Steady As We Go
by late edition
Summary: The setting is Winchester Academy, the most elusive private school in New York, and Ashley Davies isn’t sure what to expect when she shows up with nothing but a suitcase full of designer clothes. After meeting nerdy!Spencer, things start to go to hell...
1. The Prologue: Present Time

**DISCLAIMER:** Not mine. Never will be, I'm afraid. Everything belongs to Tom Lynch, yadda yadda... And the song _Steady As We Go_ belongs to The Dave Matthews Band, I lay no claim to that either.

**Title:** Steady As We Go  
**Author:** late edition  
**Pairings:** Everybody gets together on this one.  
**Rating:** M or NC-17. (AC, AL, V, N)  
**Summary: **The setting is Winchester Academy, the most elusive private school in rural New York, and Ashley Davies isn't sure what to expect when she shows up with nothing but a suitcase full of designer clothes. Dealing with stuck up cheerleaders and teachers who are simply out to get her, Ashley just wants to crawl back to L.A. But when she meets nerdy Spencer Carlin... things start to change. The question is; For better, or for worse?

**PLEASE NOTE: **The prologue is written in present tense, everything that happens from chapter one on is past tense. I hope that makes sense. Okay, then, continue on reading.

* * *

**PROLOGUE:**

**_Steady As We Go._**

_I walk half way around the world,  
just to sit down by your side.  
And I would do most anything, girl,  
to be the apple of your eye._

The abyss between us grows with each passing day.

I can feel it, lurking beyond every conversation and each individual touch. Do you feel it, as well? I don't think so, or maybe I choose to not know or quest for your true feelings. The reality of what really was and what really was not might break me.

I feel incompetent next to you, unworthy in more ways then one. I can't help it, because you're just too angelic: _too perfect_. You know who you are, and you certainly know what you want. I, also, know I can't be like you, as hard as I try. Even when we lie together, intertwined in this bed, I can't help but feel inadequate.

_Troubles they may come and go,  
but good times they are the gold.  
And if this road gets rocky, girl,  
just steady as we go._

You seem to sense my discomfort, because you place a gentle hand on my shoulder and say my name in such a breathless whisper;

"_Ash_ley?"

I freeze for a second, before tilting my head toward you with a smile that feels like a bald-faced lie. Can you see the splinters in that ghoulish grin? Your expression softens, your once azure eyes become tiny ovals of deadened gray ice, and you seem to understand with quiet acceptance. One strand of blonde hair falls free from the chains of your messy bun, and I long to brush it back into the order that rules your life, but my fingers are as numb as my cold, cold heart.

_Any place you want to go,  
know that I'll be next to you.  
If it's treasure baby you're looking for,  
I'll search the whole world through._

"What's wrong?" You're so innocent, so careful not to ask the wrong question and hurt my already fragile feelings. But everything is twisted now, each perfect thing you do drives me insane. I just want to see anger cross your pretty face, I want to feel the heat of your irritation beating off in waves across my body.

Yet, I just shake my head, brushing off your question like I might some sort of petrous insect. "Nothing." We're careful not to linger on the crack in my voice, and also the hesitation in my lips, when they press lightly against your own in an sort of apologetic kiss, is ignored.

It's supposed to be this way, right? Spencer and Ashley in love, together forever, with no end in sight. Juliet and Juliet; oh wait, didn't the real _Romeo and Juliet_ end in tragedy? Well, how perfectly fitting for this wrecked boat of a relationship. Our poor ship, once sailing the windy waters of love with such bravado, now sits in a halt on a sea of stillness and unspoken resentment.

_Troubles they may come and go,  
but good times they be the gold.  
And if this road gets rocky, girl,  
just steady as we go._

I have you by the collar of your cliché polo now, and I lean back to let my gaze drift over your own. "I. . ."

You tilt your head in a way that belongs entirely to you, and wait for me to think of exactly how to phrase my thoughts. I'm so in love with you, but I can't stand to be with you.

Is every teenage romance this way? Is that why there are so many cheating spouses in this cruel, ignorant world?

The questions spin round and round in my head, while my brain tries so hard to form coherent words for you to understand and comprehend. "I want so much, and I take so little." I cringe, how could I have been more cryptic? But you smile, and reach up to trace my high cheek bone with a perfectly manicured finger. You're quiet for too long, and I quickly begin to grow uneasy by each passing moment. Then, with sudden and utter confidence, you speak;

"I know. You need me, but you don't think I need you. And you don't want to be the needy one, right?"

_When the storm comes,  
you shelter me,  
and I don't say a word,  
but you know exactly what I mean._

God, how more perceptive can you be? I forget how easily you read me, like some sort of open-book, and I blush beneath the weight of your heady gaze. "Kiss me, Ashley." You say quietly, a command that confuses me. When my puzzled gaze meets yours, you simply smile thinly and repeat, "_Kiss me_." The urgent note in your voice is just too much, so I start to move forward before I pause to think. What will that do to make things right between us?

_In the darkest times,  
you shine on me;  
you set me free,  
and keep me steady as we go._

I don't know, and suddenly I don't care. I lean toward you again, our lips millimeters apart before I whisper with as much authority as I can manage, "Why?" I want to be in control; I need to be in control. You shake your head with such feisty disobedience that a fire begins to flicker in my belly, deep down where the blood runs hot and sensual:

"_Do it, and I'll show you._" Your breath is hot and sweet as it mingles with my own; I sigh, I've given in.

_Show me what_, I can't help but think,_ oh this is all so terribly confusing!_ I close the acute gap between us; tongues, teeth, and lips meet in fiery passion. Suddenly, I understand what you have tried to do with this flammable kiss.

It's over too quickly, that knee-weakening action, and we're lying in each other's arms with nothing but hot and shallow breathing between us. What has it done but underline the physical side of our relationship; having shown nothing but how we simply exist between the fleeting moments of passionate lust. I want you, I said it before without flinching, but is it just in a literal fashion? Do I not want the person inside the beautiful goddess body of yours, too? Or have I been lying to myself all along?

_So if your heart rings dry my love,  
I will fill your cup.  
And if your load gets heavy, girl,  
I will lift you up._.

Frustrated, I growl deep in my throat and fling myself upon you. You're surprised, but you accept me with a willing mouth and gentle tongue.  
I don't want that, not at all.

_I want more_, I want angry, disobedient Spencer. I want someone who will tell me; _No_.

You yank me closer, flipping us over and straddling me with impatient, bucking hips.

I'm surprised, normally you just lie and wait, letting me do my thing while I watch you whimper beneath my sometimes rough touches. I realize that I've been trying to wake you up from wherever you went to after that first night together, when you were aggressive and sexy for a few hopeful moments. You had been someone who wanted me to believe in us more than I believed in anything else.

That Spencer, the one who had told me that she couldn't just be my friend, had returned tonight.

I could feel your hands squeezing my sides, the grips tight and relentless. The slight press of your knees against my own hips, kindled a fire in my lower abdomen that has been trying to start for months now. Your fingers release their tight clutch and travel curiously to the edge of my baby blue camisole, gently tracing the cotton line with pretend hesitance.

Then, without warning, you slip beneath the fabric and trace the hardened muscles of my stomach; the curve of your fingernail sliding along each toned and cut muscle with teasing slowness. Your mouth, having slipped down to press hungry kisses against my bronzed neck, is missed terribly by my own and I reach my free hand up to grip your hair with sudden roughness. Yanking it back and shoving your lips in the direction of my own tingling rouged ones, creating a kiss hot and needy.

You're still exploring my body with such innocence that I almost believed it was our first time, and that was just so romantic and strangely arousing.

I break away from the passionate kiss I had brought to life, and gently let my eyes linger across your own. "Spencer..." The longing, the lust, it's all spoken in your name. I can't hold on anymore, can't keep tearing myself away from you to form any more walls. I just have to be . . . with you. I give in, the iron walls around my heart crumbling down, down into the abyss that seals once all guards have dropped.

You come back to me, pressing your lips against my own ravaged ones as we kiss lazily away the tears on our cheeks. It's all right now; we don't have to pretend anymore. . .

_Troubles they may come and go,  
but good times be the gold.  
So if this road gets rocky, girl,  
**just steady as we go.**_

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**Remember, everything written from this point forward is **PAST TENSE**. You'll be awfully confused if you don't know that. ;) Also, Nerdy!Spencer alert ahead ... she will change, but not until the fifth or sixth chapter. Mmkay. Continue on to chapter uno.


	2. The Beginning of the Beginning

**DISCLAIMER:** South of Nowhere is not owned by me. Surprise, surprise on that one...

* * *

**_Welcome to Hell. Popcorn, anyone?_**

Davies' Manor is not exactly the place you want to be seen lurking around at in the dead of the night. In fact, most are not sure if it's somewhere you would want to be at any time. The house is dark, sullen, and really quite broody in the way it sits on the top of it's private hill. The more modern mansion is something that appeals more to crime lords and wannabe gangsters, but on a night much like this one; Davies' Manor had caught the attention of a local thug named Damien 'Fast-Fistin' Roberts. With his crew, aptly named 'The Dark Robbers', he planned to bust into the place and steal everything that he could fit into his stolen Volkswagen, the van came with shag carpeting much to his pleasure. What dear Damien didn't count on though, was to run into a member of the staff who worked in the household. Terrified of being caught and sent to do hard time, he stabbed the poor butler and stole the twenty bucks in his wallet. Being the moron that Damien was, he left fingerprints on the wallet and the chosen murder weapon; a knife from the kitchens. Arrested soon after, just like the rest of his band of goons, he was sent to prison.

Around a month after all this excitement, the Davies' Family decided to send their only child away to be 'protected' ( air quotes ) at an elusive private school: Winchester Academy. Or rather, this was their alibi to why they had decided to send their eldest daughter, Ashley Davies, away. The real reason why they were washing their hands of her was because of what happened on the morning of February Sixteenth. A day that dawned just as bright as any other, but ended so darkly that the entire Davies' clan considered it the blackest night of their sheltered little lives. It was the morning that Ashley pranced into the kitchen, and with as much gusto as she could muster, announced she was 'gay' ( more air quotes ). Much to the horror of her idiot father, an ambassador, and her mother, a highly respected divorce lawyer. They had always suspected, but now their worst fear had been confirmed. Their daughter was... _a lesbian_. And so, they sent her off to boarding school and never gave her another thought. She was _dead_ to them.

Now, just a week after that little incident, in the dead of the night Ashley Davies was being swept off into an expensive limousine and set on a road to _self discovery_. Or at least, that's what the brochure said this new 'path' was– a place where she can learn about herself and the people around her. Fan-_freakin'_-tastic, right?

So, I have placed you, dear reader, into the opening scene of this wonderful story with a bit of history to hold tight to your memory banks. Now, I'm going to release you to the confusing labyrinth of my little tale. Please, take my hand; don't get lost; and whatever you do, don't get too comfortable, for this road is rather rocky. I'll do my best to make you laugh and cry. But please, remember to tell me when things are good, or even if they're bad. How else will I know you're there?

* * *

**_The Beginning of the Beginning._**

"Lenard, how far are we?" A scantily clad girl leaned low as her glossed lips brushed the speaker of the intercom; grinning at how her voice sounded all husky and seductive. Poor Lenny, he was in his fifties and had been driving her around since she was six. From carnivals to gay bars, he'd seen it all and done his fair share of playing _'Twenty Questions_' with her as they drove through the streets of time.

Releasing the 'talk' button, the girl hooked one knee over another; her skirt riding up to reveal ridiculously skinny thighs, and she sighed in a bored, pouty fashion. Her full lips pursing together as she imagined her new life at the Academy de Winchester. The intercom spat out a few words laced with static, "We're almost there, Miss Davies. Do you care for some music?" Lenard, or Lenny as she had fondly nicknamed him, spoke with his rare formal tone, and she smiled thinly. He feared the limo was rigged with her father's spy gadgets, and so did she. Daddy-dearest would be watching her closely from now on, lest she might embarrass him and make headlines again. Tucking a strand of messy sable hair behind her ear, she pressed the intercom talk button again.

"Please, my usual, thank you." She was being unnecessarily polite, but she wanted to give her father a reason to relax. Hopefully, he would and she could give up this tirade of being sweet and innocent. If only she hadn't been so foolish to announce her sexual orientation so boldly to him and her idiot mother. But what else could she have done? Maggie had her backed against the wall, she needed to do something, or she might have lost the beautiful model. _I lost her in the end, anyway._ The thought ran rather painfully across her mind, and the coming sound of her favorite CD was a welcome distraction. Dave Matthews had always been one of her favorite singers, his smokey voice was romantic and very zen-like. Plus, his lyrics were rather clever as well.

Settling in the bucket seat of the trim black car, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. It would be a long time before they reached LAX airport, and even longer before she was safely hidden away in New York. She was glad to have stayed up all night partying the previous evening, because it made sleeping off the boring and mindless hours all the more plausible.

- - - -

_"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking on the behalf of United Airlines; Welcome to the New York International Airport. Welcome home as well, to those fellow New Yorkers, and enjoy your stay if you're just visiting. It's a beautiful state, and a beautiful afternoon folks. Best wishes to you all."_

The plane bumped along down the runway, and Ashley Davies began gathering her stuff together. Shoving her iPod and cell phone into her _Louis Vuitton_ bag, she pulled out the matching wallet and leafed through the one hundred dollar bills for a twenty to buy some coffee later. Finally finding one just as they came to the terminal, she unbuckled her seat belt and stretched. Yawning, she listened to the old woman behind her complain about the poor service this flight had, and she how she would never, _ever_ fly with them again. Resisting the urge to whirl around and slap the old fart, Ashley smiled at the cute boy sitting in the extra-wide first class seat beside her.

"Enjoy the flight?" She asked him with a coy, thin smile, and he nodded nervously. "Where are you headed to in New York?" She didn't know why she was making small talk now, but he seemed to be excited at the prospect of her attention.

He gulped, before answering in a deep voice, his green eyes disappearing beneath hooded eyelids lined with thick, black eyelashes. "Back to my school. My father had a stroke, so I had to fly home for a bit. Aiden Dennison, by the way." He stuck out a tanned hand, his black hair falling messily into his beautiful jade orbs. Ashley figured he was too hot, probably too smooth as well when he was fully warmed up and not quite so nervous.

"Pleased to meet you, Aiden. I'm Ashley." She left out her last name, knowing that he would probably recognize her if she gave him half a chance. "I'm headed to school, too. Winchester Academy, it's supposed to be good, but I wouldn't know – I'm new."

The boy literally shivered with delight. "No way!" He exclaimed, his voice cracking slightly with the curse of puberty. "That's my school. Well, it's not really _mine_, but I go there." Blushing slightly, he tilted his head and tried to appear nonchalant. "I could, uh, show you around sometime.." When he saw her frown slightly, he added rather hastily, "Only if you want, okay?"

She sighed rather dramatically and pursed her lips in the perfect pout. "Well," her voice coy while she stood up to leave the plane, "I guess you could, sometime." _How about never_, she thought with a slight bit of sardonic humor. When he stood up as well, moving out into the aisle and going back a bit to let her walk out first; she grinned and started toward him; pressing a manicured hand against his arm and whispering, "Thanks. You're such a... _gentleman_." Batting her lashes and inwardly chortling at the way he seemed to inflate with male pride, she turned and began to walk toward the exit, not without swinging her backside in a pleasing manner, of course. He was probably in a puddle where he stood, and she was pleased; there was one boy already under her spell and she hadn't even arrived yet. Things might not be so bad after all...

Stepping out into the terminal, she glanced around at the waiting people. They were supposed to send someone to pick her up, but she wasn't sure who. Looking at each individual sign, she finally caught sight of one beginning with a 'D'. It read **DAVY** in big bold black letters, and she sighed softly. The morons couldn't even get her name right, but it was only when she caught sight of who held the wretched thing that her heart really plummeted. From her old lady-ish Ked white sneakers to the horrific knee-length khaki shirt and striped non-name brand blouse; this unknownn blonde girl was obviously style-challenged. Waving slightly, and wincing at the way the awfully-dressed girl waved dramatically back, Ashley made her way over. "Hi, I'm Ashley Davies. I think your sign might be wrong—"

"Oh! Did I write Davy? What a complete and utter silly goose I am!" The girl laughed uproariously and waved her hands wildly about as she chattered on, "I'm Spencer. Carlin, Spencer." She waggled her thick eyebrows in a goofy manner, "Anyway, I _am_ looking for you! Or rather, Winchester Academy is! And that's quite the place to have out hunting for you!" She said in a sing-song manner, before throwing her arms around Ashley, who immediately stiffened. "I'm just so super-duper-_uber_ glad you're here!"

Grabbing Ashley's hands and holding them with soft palms, she jumped up and down in her excitement. "Well, let's get going then! I'm going to drive you back there, and we can get to know one another on the way!" She began to drag a numb Ashley toward the luggage claiming area, chattering on as she went.

- - - - -

After claiming Ashley's bags, they had started for the parking lot. After rows and rows of cars passed them, Spencer halted at a non-descript black BMW. Sticking a key into the car door, Spencer opened it and unlocked the passenger side. Opening her own door, Ashley bent over and climbed into the expensively detailed car. The high price-tag setting was something familiar, but when she caught sight of a cross hanging from the rearview mirror along with a picture of Jesus looking all _holy-like_; Ashley began to hear twilight zone music. "So, uh, you really like God." She found herself trying to make small talk with the geekiest girl she had ever met, and the sheer insanity of it might have driven her crazy if she had been anyone else.

Spencer nodded enthusiastically as she started the car, a Christian radio station immediately began softly playing a song about God and His wonderful love. Ashley swallowed and closed her eyes, thinking with slight desperation; _go to your happy place. Where there is booze, drugs, and beautiful girls to fuck. Go there, yes, there—_

"Jesus loves us all," sang the crooner and Ashley started to crack, her eyes rolling up into her head and her hand clutching the door handle in a death grip. _This was hell, yes, definitely hell._ She had been very bad and now she was paying the price.

Spencer, who sat at the wheel, tapped her fingernails against the wheel and shook her thick glasses-adorned head. "Don't you just _love_ this song!" She said with such innocent sweetness that Ashley felt her head begin to throb.

"Yes, love it, very much..." Was that her weak voice coming out, or did it belong to someone else in this car from hell? Ashley didn't know, she was pretty sure she was going insane. Or at least, dreaming, _or something_... Anything but this.

Spencer grinned and reached over to pat Ashley's knee, and the brunette girl glanced down blankly. "Well, all right then, you silly boo-boo. I'll turn it up." She giggled like it was some big sin to turn the music up to actual hearing-ability height, and then suddenly did a granny-press against the wheel. Her chest touching the air bag while one hand reached for the gearshift to put it in reverse.

"Let's hit the open road," the sing-song voice was back again and this time Ashley actually clutched her head. _To my happy place; booze, drugs, girls to fuck..._

"We're going to be _best_ friends, I just know it!"

Ashley plastered herself against the window and mouthed to the driver next to them: _'Save me.'  
_

_

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_

**_Author's Notes:  
_**Reviews are not mandatory, but they are appreciated. Please leave one on your way out, thanks!


	3. The Bible Made Me Do It

**DISCLAIMER:** South of Nowhere is not owned by me. Surprise, surprise on that one...

* * *

**S T F U, Spencer!**

"Welcome to Winchester Academy, Ashley!"

Spencer sang in her sickly sweet sing-song falsetto. Ashley moaned softly and clutched her forehead tighter, the migraine that had developed somewhere in the Airport parking lot had stayed for the whole hour and a half ride. The geek beside her, however, hadn't even begun to notice Ashley's discomfort, and when Spencer had pulled into the student parking lot, she actually started to sing the school fight song. "Go! Win-Win-Winchester! Go! Win-Win-Winchester! Oh, Ash, you're going to just _love_ this school. The campus is beautiful; the activities are so much fun; and the people are _just like me_." Ashley whimpered softly, but Spencer took no note of it and she continued chattering on. "They're nice, friendly, and really smart. I love it here, it's the only place that has _ever_ accepted me." Shifting the car into park, and unbuckling her seat belt, Spencer turned to Ashley with a slightly crazed grin. "You ready to start your new life, _best friend_?"

"Nope." Ashley muttered darkly, and at Spencer's slightly dampening expression, she added rather hastily, "Oh, yes. I'm horrifically excited. This place sounds... like... so much fun." Ashley continued to lie horribly as she unbuckled her own seatbelt, wincing when she remembered how Spencer had reminded her to buckle it in the first place. _'You don't want to go through the window-shield, now do you?'_ The blonde had said with so much gusto that Ashley began to wonder if there was something wrong with Spencer. Obviously, there was no history of depression in _her_ family. Ashley had rolled her eyes but she had clipped the belt on– she would have done anything to make this stupid freak shut the fuck up.

Spencer smiled widely and opened her car door, accidently whacking the Dodge Viper beside them and leaving a half an inch scratch on it's shiny red paint. "Oppsie!" The blonde laughed, before hopping out of her own expensive car and leaning back to pop open the trunk. When that was done, she looked up at Ashley with an innocent grin. "I'll grab your stuff, but would you mind pulling my bible out of the back seat? I take it with me everywhere for good luck." Without waiting for an answer, she shut the door and headed for the trunk.

* * *

**Ashley + Holy Bible Spashley. Yes, it works damnit.**

They made quite the procession as they rolled Ashley's two _Louis Vuitton_ suitcases to the entrance of the main brick building of Winchester Academy. Ashley had one suitcase in her left hand, and in her right was a shiny green bible. The glossy gold letters on the front of the leather bound book reading quite clearly; _The Holy Bible_ ( Word from thou's lord ) . Any second now, Ashley knew she would be struck by lightning or the flesh would sizzle off in her hand and land in a pile of goo on the black pavement.

When Spencer threw open the door to reveal the inner-workings of Winchester Academy, Ashley was amazed by all of the state-of-the-art stainless steel decor. Everything was gleaming, shiny, and all metallic-like; it was just so _lesbionic_! High powered women were marching to and from different offices, they were dressed in suits; and their ties were hanging stylishly from their starched white collars. Ashley began to salivate, the ride from hell was suddenly all worth it, especially if she got to come here more then twice a day. When a twenty-something woman walked by, her impossibly high heels making loud clacking sounds on the polished tiled floors, Ashley fought the urge to wolf whistle. The short skirt, white stylish school teacher-esq blouse, and navy striped royal blue blazer seemed to be the outfit o'the day. Now this, Ashley could fall in love with, oh yes. Definitely. Spencer, of course, had to ruin it.

"Now, come with me and we'll go see Mrs. Palmybottoms." _Palmybottoms?_ Ashley thought with a smirk as she followed Spencer toward the elevators. The blonde girl was stared at all the way across, but she appeared to not notice or care. When they reached the gleaming silver doors of the elevators, another beautiful girl strode quickly up and purposefully slammed into Spencer. The poor geeky blonde girl was knocked off her feet, and she landed on her butt while her glasses went flying. The whole hall erupted into muted giggles, and Spencer began to turn tomato-red as her hands began searching for her glasses. And the girl who had practically ran her over, turned and smiled at Ashley, gripping the brunette's arm and beginning to lead her away.

"Madison," she greeted Ashley with a slight Spanish-tinged accent, "but it'll be Savior to you." She trilled a laugh and glanced from the bible in Ashley's hand, and then back to Spencer. "I'm sorry you met the local freak first, but ah, every barrel of apples has to have one with a rotten core. Call it a curse or something." Ashley followed her gaze to the poor blonde, who was still struggling to find her glasses. Yanking her arm free, Ashley backed up a few paces and glared at the bitch who called herself Madison. "_Listen_, I can judge for myself who has a 'rotten core', thanks." She started back to Spencer, feeling Madison's eyes bore into her back all the way. Kneeling down, careful to keep her skirt from riding up, she plucked Spencer's glasses from just behind the poor girl's Ked clad foot. The lenses were cracked and when she handed them to Spencer, the blonde's face fell for just a slight moment.

"You didn't have to do that," she whispered softly to Ashley, as she placed the glasses back on, Ashley's sympathic expression coming sharply into focus for her. "You still have two strikes though, I guess." Ashley frowned softly, her expression turning from pitying to inquiring and Spencer sighed. "New popular kids have to be approved by Madison, or they're not considered 'cool'. You have three chances and that was your first. It's like a code around here." Ashley helped Spencer to her feet, and then gently handed her the bible, while taking up the handle of her other suitcase.

"Here," Ashley smiled, "I think you need your good luck back."

* * *

**Walkin' on the Wild Side.**

They rode up to the fourth floor in silence, Spencer rubbing a spot on her elbow that had been cut open from her fall, and Ashley wondering why the hell she had stuck up for the other girl in the first place. She wasn't a bleeding heart, hell, she was just as bad as Madison when it came to being a total bitch. But, something about Spencer had made her feel softer then normal, and she couldn't let Madison bully the other girl around. Glancing over to Spencer, she thought about how the blonde had almost seemed normal when she was seated on the floor of the lobby. Why? Was all this geekiness just an act? Ashley wasn't sure why she cared, but it irked her quite a bit. "So, Spencer," she found herself saying, "What's with the Dr. Jekyll slash Mr. Hyde personalities?"

Spencer laughed softly, and turned to meet Ashley's gaze with a knowing grin. "I don't have a _clue_ to what you're talking about, _best friend_." But the wink that followed said what Spencer didn't, and Ashley's curiosity was definitely piqued. Clearly, there was much more to this Spencer-girl then she was willing to air publically. Leaning against the cold back wall of the elevator, Ashley smiled and shook her head. Suddenly, the box-like structure groaned and shuddered to a halt. Spencer was thrown off her feet again, and she landed rather ungracefully face-first onto the carpeted floor. Sitting up, the blonde said something so completely unexpected that Ashley almost choked on her own saliva;

"_God, damnit!_"

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**Oh my gosh! She took the Lord's name in vain! And they're trapped in an elevator?! The Spashley Sparks shall FLY! Yeah, baby. 


	4. You're So Weird But I Like It

**DISCLAIMER:** South of Nowhere is not owned by me. Surprise, surprise on that one...  
**_

* * *

A Budding Friendship..._**

Spencer sat with her hands clamped over her mouth, a wide-eyed expression upon her pale face. The black-framed glasses she was wearing had slipped down to the very edge of her nose, revealing those beautiful blue eyes again. She appeared horrified by what she had said before– taking the Lord's name in vain was a sin, and she couldn't believe that she had committed one so easily. Making soft whimpering noises, the blonde girl began to rock back and forth, and she was sure that she was on the fast track to hell.

Ashley, amused by everything about this whole scene, gently knelt down beside the shattered girl. "It's all right, Spence. You didn't get struck by lightning as soon as His name left your mouth, right? And you didn't really _mean_ to do it, so I'm pretty sure He won't count it against you. Okay?" Even though Ashley didn't really hold much room for religion in her heart, poor Spencer just looked so pathetic that Ashley just had to soothe her. With a soft and wry smile, Ashley wrapped her arms around the sniffling Spencer. The blonde leaned against her, and Ash was surprised at how soft and delicate Spencer was, almost like a china-doll. The injured look upon Spencer's naturally pretty and clean face made her all the more adorable, and the brunette found herself caught up in those ocean-hued blue eyes...

_Woah! Hold up! Stop the bus! Cold shower time!_ She could not like this God-loving geek, no way! First of all, because there was simply _zero_ chance with her. This was the kind of girl who held sermons on destroying the 'gay gene', and purifying the human race by homosexual genocide. No way would Ashley ever be able to knock this one under her powerful spell, despite the sable haired girl's most elusive charm. Spencer would be immune to anything she tried, Ash was sure of it; besides, the brunette's gaydar hadn't gone off once around Spencer. And Ashley had _great_ gaydar. Most importantly, Spencer totally wasn't even close to her type; the blonde wasn't well developed in the front or the back, and she was the biggest freak Ashley had ever met.

_That's why you like her_, a little voice in Ashley's mind said with vindictive happiness. "I definitely do not like her! I don't even know her!" Ashley said aloud with as much gusto as she could muster, and Spencer scooted away with an alarmed look. The blonde eyed Ashley with apprehension before raising one inquiring and thick eyebrow;

"Don't like and don't know who?"

Ashley smiled apologetically before speaking, "No one. Uh, I was thinking about the first time I took the Lord's name in vain... and it was around my sister. And then I, uh, got to thinking about how I don't like or know my, uh, cousin. So, uh, yeah, I don't like her and I don't know her!" She finished lamely and loudly, before gesturing vaguely to the setting that they found themselves in. "So, uh, how are we supposed to get out of here? It's kind of my first day and I really don't want to make a bad impression..." _Yeah, that's right, Ashley, go on and lie. She's looking at you like you're crazy, and she's the freaking nut-job!_

"I thought it was your sister," Spencer said randomly, and at Ashley's completely and utterly confused following look, the blonde continued, "Well, at first you said that you took His name in vain around your sister. Then you said you didn't like or know your cousin... So you don't like them slash don't know them both?" Ashley's expression was a very clear; _Huh?_ Clearing her throat and deciding to let the uncomfortable moment pass, Spencer stood and gazed at the _Emergency Instructions_ engraved into a plaque by the buttons of the elevator. After reading step one and step two, she leaned forward and hit the 'Alarm' button, before covering her ears as a piercing scream seemed to fill the tiny box she and Ashley were trapped in.

"_Ahh!_" Ashley yelled above the noise, "_Shut that off!_"

"_I'm trying,_" Spencer shouted frantically back, as she hit the button over and over again desperately.

* * *

**_Macho, Macho, Macho man! Sing it, ladies, for Aiden!_**

"Do you hear something?" Matt Greenburg asked his best friend, Aiden Dennison as they walked down the hall together. "Like a whistle or something? And girls... _screaming_?" Halting, he began to look around for the source of the noises. Aiden nodded to say that he, too, heard the whistling and screaming symphony. Together they began walking toward the source of the sounds, their eyes peeled for some sort of movement or shadow. It was finally Aiden, because he had those amazing ( eye roll ) predatory male skills, who found the source of the pandemonium .

"It's coming from the elevator," he said with a note of dramatic show in his tone, and together they sprinted for the silver double-doors. "Someone might be hurt!" Aiden said as he puffed himself up for a rescue that he was sure would be legendary. They skidded to a halt and pressed their ears against the cold metal doors, listening to the alarm and the screams of freaked out Spencer plus frightened Ashley. Aiden, being ever-so brave, turned to Matt with a grave expression. "You go for help, man. I'll try and get them out while you're gone." Matt nodded and ran off, glad to not have taken part in the gallant rescue. Aiden was a git, in Matt's opinion, and would probably end up electrocuted or flattened like a pancake when he fell fifty feet down or something.

* * *

**_We're Trapped, But I'm Glad_**

The alarm went on for five piercing minutes and then suddenly it turned off, and Spencer stepped back to slump against the far wall. She was breathing like she had run a marathon, and the sweat on her face looked that way, too. Ashley, who was curled up in the fetal position, peered up at the panting blonde. "_Good god! What did you do?_" The brunette ignored Spencer's wince at her choice of taking the main deity's name in vain again, and attempted to continue her berating tirade before a voice from above cut her off. "You're such a–"

"Ladies, can you hear me? If you can, scream for me. My name is _Aiden_." The voice, definitely male, was deep and strong; like the voice of god or something.

Ashley quickly leapt to her feet, throwing her head back and screaming as loud as she could. Spencer covered her ears and winced, beginning to tremble slightly from the toil this was taking on her already shattered nerves. "_AIDEN, IT'S ASHLEY! GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!_"

_Well, that wasn't a tad bit dramatic_, Ashley thought rather sardonically as she closed her mouth and waited for answer. A minute ticked by and still no answer from Aiden, then suddenly, his voice floated down to them again. "Hey, Ashley! I guess now would be a good time to get your number? I forget to do it on the plane!" There was a chuckle above them, then a slight yelp as if he had been hit by something. "Anyway! I'm standing here with Ms. Palmybottoms and she said that we're going to get you guys out in the next hour or so, okay? Until then, hang tight!"

Ashley closed her eyes and fell to her knees. She was trapped, again, with Spencer and there was no way out.

No. Freaking. Way. Out.

Spencer was crying softly, as if she couldn't believe the predicament they were in either. Ashley, feeling bad for making Spencer cry, stood and hesitantly walked closer to the blonde. "Hey... are you all right?"

_Well, that's a great question, Ashley! Of course she's all right, probably doing fan-freakin'-tastic, thank you._ Ashley silently berated herself as she waited for Spencer's answer.

"Yeah," Spencer said softly from where she rested her head against her hands, her voice slightly clogged from her tears. "I don't even know why I'm crying... I guess I'm just scared." She hiccuped softly, and Ashley knelt down beside her again.

"It's all right," Ashley soothed as she placed an arm around the blonde, "They'll get us out of here. And then you can show me around the school, okay?" Spencer nodded mutely, and Ashley rested her head on the other girl's shoulder. Remembering that she had her iPod with her, the brunette began shuffling around in her purse. Finally finding the music device, she pulled it out and kissed it. Spencer looked up and gave Ashley a '_And they call me crazy_' glance. Ashley smiled and offered one head-phone to the blonde girl, "Here. We'll listen to some Dave Matthews, he always relaxes me when I'm stressed."

Spencer gasped, her blue eyes widening behind her thick lenses, "You like Dave! Me too! I met him once at one of his concerts, he's so nice." She chattered on as she placed the head phone into her ear, and Ashley grinned while shaking her head.

Queen geek Spencer was back, and that was perfectly all right with Ashley.

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**You read it, you review it. ;)


	5. Getting To Know You Is Really Hard

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own South of Nowhere. Really, I don't. You could really sue if you wanted to, but all you would get would be my freakin' sweet Carpal Tunnel gloves.

* * *

**_I'm just a notch in your bedpost,  
but you're just a line in a song._**

They had been trapped in the elevator for three hours now, and occasionally the box-like structure would shudder to life and slide downward a few feet. Each and every time, Spencer would scream and clutch tighter to Ashley, as if the brunette could protect her from what she assumed would be an eventual fifty foot free-fall. After this process was repeated for a tenth time, the blonde let out a hoarse yelp and buried her head in Ashley's chest. Trying to be brave for the both of them, the sable haired girl soothed Spencer by talking in what she hoped was a comforting tone. "It'll be all right, Spence. They're just lowering us down so we can get out at the next floor. They have this thing locked into position until they're ready to move it again." Ashley was bull-shitting Spencer, and both of them knew it, but they didn't argue with the palpable yet facetious explanation.

Spencer lifted her head up and met Ashley's doe-brown eyes with her own oval orbs of perfect blue, "If we die..." The blonde hesitated, unsure of exactly how to put what she wanted to say without sounding like a total drama queen. "If we die, I'll have done nothing. Nothing to help anyone, nothing to do any good at all. I don't want that, Ashley. I don't. I'm the kind of girl who could make a difference in this world – not to sound arrogant or anything, I know it does... but..." She trailed off again, her blue eyes closing painfully before she suddenly realized that her full body weight was resting on Ashley. Eyelids snapping open and pulling away with a slightly embarrassed grin, she gestured to Ashley's three thousand dollar purse. "Have any food?"

It seemed a little ludicrous to Ashley that Spencer would spill her heart out, and then ask for food, but hey, this _was_ the weirdest girl she had ever met. So, maybe it was just the way Spencer operated or something? Ashley decided to just not care, and she turned slightly to rummage around in her purse. "I, uh, think I have some chips or something." Biting her lip, and pulling out a few random items to help increase the odds of finding her chosen desire, she glanced at each one vaguely before setting it down beside her; lip gloss, eye liner, foundation, dildo — _Oh my god! What?_ She picked the dildo back up and looked at the cylinder shaped object in her hand with complete and utter surprise, she didn't even own one of these things! How on earth did it get in her purse? There was a note attached to it, and she flipped open the folded piece of paper with slight trepidation. Reading aloud and catching Spencer's attention, Ashley began to turn a vibrant shade of red: "For you, Ash, since it's the only action you'll get at the turn-your-kid-straight camp. Love, Glen." Spencer, who had been staring at the masquerading rubber penis with slight wonder, tapped Ashley on the shoulder and startled the brunette into dropping the sex toy again. Ashley had, in her shamed moment, completely forgotten that Spencer was there!

"What's that?" The innocence of the question almost made Ashley laugh, but the situation itself was not even close to being a laughable matter. After all, she now had to explain to God's number one cheerleader what a dildo was. Her mind drifted back to Glen's note, as she tried to figure out what he meant by the 'turn-your-kid-straight-camp' thing. Winchester Academy was no Sexual Orientation Switch-a-roo camp, because she would have instantly known when she googled it on the internet. Perhaps, Glen the git had been wrong or something. God, Ashley _hated_ her brother. Spencer, having grown impatient in Ashley's silence, tapped her harder on the shoulder, "What's that blue thing in your hand? It kinda looks like a boy's... oh. _Ewwww_."

Ashley flushed and was brought back into the present with the sound of Spencer's cry. "No! Uh, my brother put it in here as joke. See?" She shoved the object to Spencer, who took it with trembling hands. The blonde read the note quickly, before tossing the rubber object across the room, and then immediately turned to Ashley and inquired rather innocently, "You're _gay_?"

* * *

**_Please put the doctor on the phone,  
'cause I'm not making any sense._**

This was just getting worse and worse. Spencer, queen of the worshipers of the Lord, had just questioned her sexual orientation and Ashley would be forced to answer. There was just no avoiding the blunt inquiry, and Ash didn't feel comfortable lying. It wasn't like it was some well-kept secret, after all, it had made every single tabloid there was. "I'm not into labels," Ashley said while looking away, her eyes drifting down to where her purse still lay half-open. "You still want food?" She turned to meet Spencer's curious blue-eyed gaze with a slight tremble in her normally strong voice, "Because I think I have a yummy bag of Barb-B-Que chips." _And I would like to get off the subject of whether I like a circle or a stick,_ Ashley added silently.

Spencer smiled and nodded, placing her hand rather discreetly on Ashley's, before whispering in the brunette's ear. "_I wouldn't mind if you were, you know. Just because I believe in God doesn't make me close-minded, okay?_" Then, as if she hadn't said anything at all, she leaned back and readjusted her thick-framed glasses. "Chips? Barb-B-Que flavored, too? You would be my hero if you did, in fact, have that gorgeous combination of carbohydrates and sugary spice."

Poor Ashley didn't know what to think through this little stretch of time, and she numbly handed Spencer the bag of chips without responding to that little husky voice the blonde has used, which was still reverberating in her ear. How had that sexy almost comparable to Barry White-esq voice come out from such a geeky, delicate girl? Ashley decided, like she did a lot around this blonde girl dubbed Spencer Carlin, to just let it go and focus on something else. "So, uh, Spencer, what do you do for fun?" _Besides torture people like me_, Ashley thought silently to herself. "You know, when you're not getting stuck in elevators with the new kids?"

Spencer laughed and swept her naturally smooth and silky blonde hair up into a pony tail, a few strands falling down and tickling the edges of her curved jawline. Ashley licked her lips, staring at the tendrils of yellow-tinged hair before focusing on Spencer's expression again. Deciding to ignore the wicked grin that tugged at the corners of the other girl's lips, she listened attentively to Spencer's answer. "Well, we do a lot of After-School activities here... Like archery, horseback riding, swimming ( Ashley began to salivate as she imagined the girls from the lobby all wandering around in bathing suits, Spencer, _most importantly_, included. ), and sometimes we have dances and stuff. I like horseback riding best of all, I think. I have my own horse here, his name is Padre. Would you like to meet him?"

_Oh great, I just bought a one way ticket to a luncheon with a smelly beast, probably_. Her were thoughts negative, but the smile on her face was rather believable as she nodded. "Oh, I would... love to meet him. Doesn't Padre mean 'father' in Spanish?" At Spencer's nod, Ashley wondered why the hell someone would name their horse 'Daddy'. After all, that was like a nickname for your boyfriend or something. Speaking of, Ashley found herself wondering if Spencer had a boyfriend... _You're hoping she doesn't_, said that nasty little voice in her head again. "No, I'm not!" Ashley practically shouted, and then a few seconds ticked by before she realized. "Uh, sorry, I was thinking about my... uh... brother again."

"I thought it was your cousin and your sister?" Spencer questioned with a wicked grin, before she pushed Ashley's shoulder lightly with her hand.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Although, I am wondering if I make you a little bit uncomfortable Ashley?"

"_What?_" Ashley was taken back, "No! I mean, you're a little weird, but that's okay." _Fabulous. Really great, Ashley. I'm sure she's on the fast track to being in love with you after you called her weird. Great job, you honestly should get recognition for being the biggest moron this side of Los Angelus._ After berating herself for a quick moment, Ashley tried to wipe the depressed look off Spencer's face with a compliment.

"You're not weird per say, more like... eccentric."

Spencer's face fell even more, "That's what we called my great Aunt Lydia, she collected light bulbs and ate them."

"Oh." It was all Ashley could manage before the floor literally dropped out from beneath them. Both girls were suspended in a fifty foot free fall, and it was all Aiden Dennison's fault.

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**Yeah, this one wasn't that great... sorry. Reviews are not mandatory, but they're greatly appreciated. Please leave one, thanks. 


	6. Blast From The Past

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own South of Nowhere. Really, I don't. You could really sue if you wanted to, but all you would get would be my freakin' sweet Carpal Tunnel gloves.

* * *

**_I'll go ahead and pour myself a drink,  
I could really care less what you think..._**

The elevator jolted to a stop, and both girls crashed down against the thin layer of carpet with equally loud thumps. The box shuddered, as if the weight of two girls, two suitcases, a purse, and some other miscellaneous items was just too much. Spencer, sitting up wide-eyed and fearful, crawled over to where Ashley lay unconscious. Shaking the brunette's shoulder once and then twice, the blonde girl began to panic. "Oh my god," she murmured as she pulled Ashley close, "Oh my god. Wake up, Ashley. _Wake up_!" The purse, laying close to Ashley's side, had spilled out all of it's contents and a bottle of water had rolled up next to Spencer's foot. Grabbing it, she unscrewed the cap and poured it onto the sable haired girl's pretty face. After a few seconds, not even five really, Ashley began to sputter and slap at her cheeks like a crazy person.

"What the ... stop that! Hey! _Quit it!_" At the sound of Ashley's slightly groggy and hoarse voice, Spencer let out a minute cry of happiness. Throwing her arms around the brunette and holding her tight, as if Ashley had been on the brink of death and by some miracle Spencer had saved her, and beginning to wail; _Spencer had never in her life been so terrified, not even when. . . _

She wasn't going to think about that, not at all. Closing her eyes, the blonde rested her head on the crown of Ashley's own, whispering thankful prayers to God. Then, with a start, she realized what she was doing and shoved Ashley roughly away. "Hey!" Ashley said with mild indignation, "What happened to sweet, nurturing Spencer? Now, all I've got is combat-Barbie Spencer, and I'm not sure if I like it."

Despite her uneasiness, Spencer chuckled before the lights in the elevator flickered once and then twice. The dim lighting from their small power-outage was gone, and soon the whole elevator was bright and florescent. "The lighting is back!" Spencer cried, before leaping to her feet and racing forward to press a button on the panel by the doors. With a smart little _ding!_ the elevator began to rise smoothly upward, as if the terror rides down it's slippery cable hadn't happened at all. Spencer clapped her hands with a child's delight, and began to dance about the car. "It's working, it's working, it's working!" She sang before grabbing Ashley's hands and pulling her to her feet. "Dance with me, Ash! The elevator is _working_." The last word so empathized it almost oozed out of her pouty lips.

"Well thank you, Captain Obvious, but I don't dance." Ashley said with mild sarcasm but still managed a small smile. Spencer was cute when she was all happy and peppy like this, even Ashley had to admit that. Pulling away from Spencer's grasp, Ashley bent down to begin gathering her things when she felt a small tap on her shoulder. Looking up, to see Spencer's blue eyes were very round and very focused on her own deep brown orbs; Ashley felt a little shiver go up her spine. There was almost a hunger in Spencer's eyes, something that hadn't been there before. Stepping close, the blonde pressed her full, luscious lips close to Ashley's delicate ear. "I said, _dance with me_. I didn't phrase it as a question." Spencer smiled mischievously before placing one of her delicate, soft hands on Ashley's waist, whilst the other one grabbed Ashley's own delicate palm. "Shall we?"

Throwing her head back in a surprised laugh, Ashley grasped Spencer's waist and pressed closer to the blonde. "We shall, indeed. I suppose you'll be leading then, _Spence_?" She drew out the masculine form of Spencer's name, grinning at the way the other girl's expression changed from predatory to almost shy.

If only the doors hadn't swung open then as they reached their originally intended destination. If only the Director of Admissions hadn't been standing there, looking exceptionally gorgeous as she examined her fingernails. If only Aiden hadn't been waiting for them, a goofy grin on his face and a cell phone ready and waiting in his hand.

If only. . .

"Is that a... _dildo_?" Aiden asked, his eyes round and innocent as he looked at the little rubber penis laying so non-discreetly right in front of the doors. He looked from the intertwined and poised-to-dance girls, to the clothes strewn about all over the elevator car, and finally to the barbeque chips haphazardly crunched on the carpet; a slow grin beginning to spread widely across his handsome face before he finally spoke again. Raising one hand to grasp his chin in a scholarly fashion, he grinned with the lust only a man can give off like some sort of disgusting cologne. "Oh, I see. Don't mind me, ladies. Just go ahead and keep doing whatever you were doing before the doors opened."

Spencer scowled and stepped away from Ashley's embrace, much to the brunette's regret. "We weren't doing anything, Dennison. We were simply dancing in happiness that we weren't stuck in this elevator, having to listen to you play the macho hero." With one hand on her narrow hip and a pointy expression on her normally kind, sweet, and round face: Spencer looked _freaking scary_.

With a soft _'tut tut'_, Ashley leaned over to whisper into Spencer's ear with a teasing note in her beautiful voice, _"Hostile, much?"_ Chortling, she stepped out from the elevator car just as the doors slammed shut and the car dropped another floor, taking Spencer's scream with it. The rush of air on Ashley's back had shown how close she had been to being made into a size nil. "Spencer!" She shouted at the shut doors, trying to pry them open with her fingernails. Turning around to look at Aiden, who was grinning at the black box he held in his other hand ( the one not holding the cell phone ), and glaring at his now upturned guilty face. "What did you do?" Ashley demanded with a harsh toss of her curly hair, "_What did you do_, you _blithering_ idiot!"

The beautiful raven haired woman, who had been watching this whole scene with something like amusement in her jade green eyes, piped up, "I do believe she was sent to the lobby." The obvious British accent caught Ashley's attention, and the brunette looked up. "That's the remote for the lift," the young Admissions Officer said with a small grin as she tilted her head in the direction of the black box in Aiden's hand, "But I do say it may be the remote for taking out the trash now, especially the has-been whore. Am I right, Aiden?" The dark haired woman and Aiden began to laugh, the sound of their amusement cruel and horrible in the silence of the hall.

Taking Aiden's cell phone from his massive fingers, Ashley threw it on the floor and began to stamp on it with the end of one heel. "There," she said with a satisfied grin as she looked at the mangled piece of metal, "You have my number now." With that, she flounced away to find the stairs and to somehow rescue Spencer from the confines of the elevator from hell.

* * *

**_You can't fence that in, stupid boy.  
It's like holding back the wind..._**

"Thanks," Spencer said shakily as Ashley handed her cup of ice cold water. "I think my nerves have been shot past the point of existence." Sitting in the middle of her room at Winchester, Ashley began to wonder how on earth she had suddenly become best friends with the biggest loser in her new school. _Did it really matter?_ She thought quietly, Spencer seemed to be the nicest girl Ashley had ever met, so what if she was a little odd? Odd wasn't bad, and Spencer wasn't crazy, so maybe things would be fine in the end. _Here's to hoping, right?_

"Spencer," Ashley said with mild hesitation, "I hate to bring this up, I really do... but why don't you like Aiden, and why doesn't he like you? I mean, he seems pretty nice—"

The blonde looked up, her blue eyes suddenly flashing gray and wintery. "Appearances can be deceiving." There was something so firm, so final in Spencer's tone that Ashley just had to press the matter further.

"What do you mean?" Biting her lip, the brunette had never felt more uncomfortable in her life. Here she was, pressing a girl who looked as if she didn't have a chance of even getting Aiden to even know she existed, let alone actually getting him to actually _talk_ to her.

Spencer huffed quietly and looked out the window of her ground level dorm-room, seemingly in pensive thought. When her eyes darted back to Ashley's dark brown orbs, the brunette thought she could see a mixture of pained confusion in those now steel gray ovals. "He and I... we..." She didn't seem to know what to say, how to phrase exactly what she was feeling or thinking. "When I first came here, I wasn't quite the same as I am now." Spencer sighed softly, sitting up to run a hand through her tangled blonde hair. "I was... like everyone else."

"Oh?" Ashley was now intrigued, what exactly did Spencer mean by being like everyone else? _Did she mean in the sense of fashion? Of personality? Of mind?_ Ashley chuckled at the last bit, as she thought about Spencer's sometimes 'out there' brain function.

Looking up to glare at Ashley, the gray-eyed blonde looked as if she wanted to strangle her new friend. "Hey! If you don't believe me, go look in the top drawer of my dresser." Ashley sighed, but ever so obediently she stood and strode over to the bureau and opened up the first shelf. A picture of a beautiful blonde girl, so _unlike_ Spencer and yet so _like_ the blonde it was just mind-blowing, and a handsome dark-haired boy lay inside. They were both smiling at the camera, their arms linked around each other as they tilted their heads close together. Her lips were rouged and ravaged, as if she had just been kissed, and his eyes were bright and happy. "He dumped me shortly after he knocked me up," Spencer's voice floated over to Ashley from the armchair she lay so tiredly in, and the brunette jerked her head up in unconcealed surprised.

"He did _what_ to you?" _There was simply no way this God-loving-freak was anything but a virgin! No fucking way._ Her shock and slight anger must have been clear on her expression because Spencer seemed to sink against the cushions with her dignity shredded.

Nodding, she sighed, "I went home for a year, had the baby and came back. Washed up, completely _'gone round the bend'_ ( air quotes ), or that's what they say around here anyway. But, I like to think I got some perspective on what's important in life." Spencer stood up and walked over to take the picture from Ashley, smiling while a tired expression lurked at the corners of her eyes. "I was pretty effing hot though, right? I could have _so_ been Head Cheerleader my sophomore year."

Ashley just stared, before she collapsed onto her brand new bed. "This is like finding out that there is no Santa, I mean... I figured you were like, the epitome of innocence." It was rather disappointing to find out that her dreams of Spencer's supposed child-like ways were not reality, but ah! At least she didn't have to feel guilty every time she made a crude joke— which she seemed to catch herself doing a lot. Especially around Spencer, who would smile thinly and shake her head with quiet amusement. To Ashley, it almost seemed like disgust, but it was actually Spencer fighting hard not to giggle or give away the fact that she knew _exactly_ what Ashley was talking about.

"I am, in a way. It's sort of like being paralyzed and then learning to walk again. I'm socially inept now, when I used to be socially inclined." Spencer laughed bitterly, before falling back onto the chair and taking another sip of water. "Well, that's the whole story on why I'm such a loser. How about you, Ashley? What on _earth_ made you decide to move in with the socially challenged girl?"

Ashley grinned before retorting rather wittily, at least in her opinion, "Well, I want to see if light-bulb collecting and devouring runs in your family." Dropping her head, her expression growing more thougtful and pensive, "Seriously, though? I guess... there's just something about you that intrigues me. Maybe it's the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personalities, or maybe I just like you. I dunno, but I would like to find out." Then, grinning wickedly, "Or, maybe I just want to see first-hand how one becomes a raving lunatic."

After their giggles died away, Ashley stretched and yawned, leaning back to lay on her bed with heavy eyelids. "Well, I'm beat. This has been an incredibly long day. Ready to hit the hay?"

Spencer grinned, "Literally or figuratively?" At Ashley's glare, the blonde nodded and held her hands up in the air. "Kidding, kidding. I'm not _that_ weird." At a pointed look from Ashley, she shrugged, "Agree to disagree?"

"Agreed." Ashley turned out the light just as Spencer began to settle into bed, when suddenly a raucous shriek came from the box springs of the brunette's mattress.

Spencer sat wildly up and flicked on the light, "What the hell was that?"

Ashley, laying diagonally across her bed, was flailing about as she tried to climb out of it's sucking hold. "My... bed... is broken!" The brunette panted, before finally falling still, "_Help_ me!"

Laughing, Spencer turned over and hummed quietly to herself. After a few moments of letting Ashley fume, the blonde spoke, "I'm too _weird_ to help you, Ashley. You might catch cooties."

Through gritted teeth, Ashley spoke with deliberate calm. "_Please_ help me?"

"Ah, the magic word!" Spencer said as she rose from her bed, "Who can resist that?" At Ashley's indigent snort, which Spencer so honorably chose to ignore, the blonde began to chuckle. "Look's like we'll be sleeping together."

As soon as those horrible words left her mouth, Spencer began to invent a whole new red for the color wheel. "Uh.. I mean..."

"Oh, _I know what you meant_, Carlin."

The silence following was overpowering.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**  
Reviews are not mandatory, but they are appreciated. Please leave one on your way out! Thanks!  
- late edition 


	7. Queen Holy of Holiness

What? An update? No freaking way!

Way, oh yes, way. Here it is. Ashley (kind of) goes to church, Ashley rides a horse... Ashley gets _laid_.

Okay, so the last one didn't happen, but don't deny that you immediately skipped down to try and read that part! Dirty skanky bitches, the lot of you! -waggles finger-

------  
**DISCLAIMER:** ... What? South of Nowhere? Me, own it? Hahahahaha. Hahahaha. Haha. Ha. You're almost as funny as me.

_Not._

----  
**But don't you walk to me,  
run, baby, run,  
_cut a path across the blue sky._**

"And this is the fountain where they baptize new members of our congregation." Spencer said as she waved her arm in the direction of the beautiful sculpture picturing a contented baby Jesus and his thinly smiling mother, Mary. Ashley looked uncharacteristically alarmed as Spencer continued describing the use of the marbled fountain. "You can't drink the water of course, it's holy, but you can dip your fingers in it for good luck. I often come here before big tests and – _What? Why are you laughing?_"

A puzzled expression worked over the beautiful honey-blonde's visage, something that was uncommon for her to wear so outwardly. Spencer was one of the most certain people Ashley knew, but right now Spencer couldn't for the life of her figure out why Ashley was giggling so obviously into her palm. "Act mature," the fair-haired girl finally decided to chastise the sable-brunette, "This is a place of _worship_, Ash!"

_Ash_, the brunette thought with a smile, since when has she started calling me that? Having been at Winchester Academy for only a couple of days, albeit it seemed like she had known Spencer forever, Ashley almost felt like it was a bit early for nicknames. Yet, they had spent their mornings in Study Hall, sniggering behind their textbooks like best friends in the confines of school often do, and whenever the opportunity arrived they secretly made fun of Aiden together as he valiantly grasped at Ashley's elusive affections. It seemed odd that someone as beautiful and well, _sexy_, as Ashley would hang out with a total dork like Spencer, but if it bothered them they didn't show it. Often, they were seen walking down the hall, pressed shoulder to shoulder, and whispering about some inside joke or secret. Not to mention, Spencer began dressing more normal – her wardrobe was all Banana Republic and American Eagle now, while Ashley's clothes tended to be the most expensive brands available. Spencer had also traded in her thick rimmed glasses for a cute stylish pair of black frames that outlined her beautiful blue eyes and accented her blonde hair.

All in all, guys began secretly crushing on them both ( well, they stopped with Spencer as soon as she began preaching about the Lord and his grand effects on life ) and the boys could often be seen following in the girls' shadows down the halls like some sort of entourage.

"Well, I . . . Do you remember that first night in our room?" Ashley snapped away from her thoughts, feeling slightly guilty for leaving Spencer hanging. The blonde looked slightly down, as if she thought Ashley was laughing at her. _Oh, no,_ the brunette thought with another outward giggle, _definitely not laughing at you, Spence._ Pausing, she realized that she had used her own little nickname for the jesus-obsessed teenager, and she didn't feel slightly awkward about it. Strange, eh?

Spencer nodded, encouraging Ashley onward when the sable-haired girl became lost in her thoughts again. "Yes, you brought me some water to ease my . . . " She trailed off, before beginning to speak in a weak tone, "You didn't — _You wouldn't_ — you gave me _holy water?_" Spencer hissed, tugging Ashley away from the fountain as if it might jump up and send her straight to hell now that she had tasted it's forbidden fruits. Or maybe it would be like Eve's fate, and she would be cast out of the garden of Eden, also known as Winchester Academy. To Spencer anyway, it was, because of Ashley of course. "What were you _thinking?_"

The other girl smiled thinly, as she quickly strode behind Spencer's moving figure, "I didn't know it was holy! I thought it was, like, a water fountain." Ashley winced, that even sounded weak and vague to her own ears.

"A water fountain?" Spencer repeated numbly, her blue eyes wide as she halted because her knees had suddenly grown weak. "You thought it was a _water fountain_?" It was like the blonde needed to repeat it to truly understand what had concurred only a few short days ago. At Ashley's brief and hesitant nod, Spencer began to laugh very loudly and rather obnoxiously. "You. Gave. Me. _Holy Water_."

Ashley began to grow uncomfortable as Spencer continued to hoot and howl, "Well, yeah, I thought we established that? Are you okay? Your face has like gone magenta . . . " Ashley shifted uncomfortably, one perfectly waxed eyebrow raising slightly. It seemed that Spencer had gone stark raving mad, and Ashley began to wonder if it was the holy water.

_Was this some kind of punishment? Had she killed or fatally wounded Spence's sanity?_

Ashley's thoughts were eased when Spencer calmed a few minutes later, although she still looked as if she were about to burst into giggles again. "I'm fine," the blonde reassured the brunette, "I just can't believe you were that stupid."

"Hey! Look at the pot calling the kettle black! You should have tasted the 'holiness' in it, since you're Miss Queen Holy of Holiness in the first place!" Ashley felt defensive, if wasn't like she gave Spencer the 'polluted' water on purpose! Putting one hand on her hip and jutting the pointy bone out, she glared at Spencer, daring the blonde to disagree.

Instead of responding right away, Spencer began giggling again, which of course irritated Ashley even more. Finally managing to speak, the blonde shook her head and said, "_Queen Holy of Holiness?_ Is that even politically correct?" When Ashley spun on her heel to leave, Spencer caught her arm and began to apologize. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made fun of your inability to make a decent comeback —"

"I can make a decent comeback!" Ashley said with high indignation, her brown eyes narrowing before softening suddenly and her lips pouting to add quietly, "Just not to you."

Spencer blushed violently and lowered her head, "Oh, okay."

_Oh, okay? That's it?_ Ashley thought with slight desperation, why wouldn't Spencer acknowledge the obvious attraction between the two of them? Why did they continue to dance around the elephant in the room? _Because she's not into you._ That nasty little voice in Ashley's head was back, and it was even more hurtful than before. Repressing the urge to retaliate to the voice that sounded so much like her father's own deep baritone ( it was a voice she had gotten quite good at ignoring, as a matter of fact ), Ashley stiffened her shoulders and began to head toward the closed double doors of the church. "Well, um, do you want to go in?"

"No," Spencer said quietly, "I don't feel like it today." Smiling, the blonde tucked her blonde hair away from her eyes and raised her gaze to meet Ashley's own whiskey orbs. "I want to show you something else, instead. I think you'll like it, but you're going to need some hiking boots or tennis shoes."

Ashley looked down at her five hundred dollar high heels with a frown, before jerking her head up and speaking with a guarded tone, "You want me to wear _what?_"

- - - - - -

**I'm in a hurry to get things done,  
I rush and rush until life's no fun.  
All I gotta do is live and die,  
but I'm in a hurry;  
and I don't know why . . .**

The smell of manure was overpowering to Ashley's virgin nostrils, and her feet were feeling claustrophobic for they were contained in a pair of brown riding boots. The jeans rubbing against her smooth and bronzed legs were irritating as well, and when a horse suddenly popped out over the door to his little 'house' her heart jumped into her throat. Surrounded by all these hairy beasts, Ashley began to realize how small and weak she truly was, however Spencer was in her element.

The blonde walked down the aisle way with her head up high and a soft grin on her face, greeting each horse by name and planting a kiss on each of their big noses. When she finally reached the stall of a gorgeous golden horse with a creamy white mane and tail, she turned to face Ashley with the biggest grin the brunette had ever seen her wear. "This is Padre. Ashley meet Padre, and Padre meet Ashley."

Rather reluctantly, Ashley approached the autumn beast with a frown and extended her hand to touch his furry muzzle. He stretched his head curiously to meet her hesitant fingers, and for a second skin met fur before he suddenly sneezed violently. Letting out a startled yelp, Ashley shot backwards and tripped over a hay bale, landing rather clumsily on her ass. Spooking at her sudden movement, Padre shot back into his own little enclosed space to sulk unhappily. Already, resentment began to grow in the beast as he saw his mistress rush to the aide of this new imposing girl.

"Ashley!" The blonde cried as she hopped over the hay bale and gently crouched down beside the brunette, "Are you all right?" Putting one hand on the slim shoulder of her 'best friend', she gingerly checked each of Ashley's wrists for any sprain or slight bit of pain. Jerking away, Ashley gathered herself to her feet with a wince.

"I'm fine," she interjected, "You . . . I mean these animals just scare me a bit, that's all." With a shake of her head and straightening the simple purple T-shirt she wore, Ashley faced the now empty half-door of the stall. "Now are we going to be cowgirls or what?"

Spencer laughed.

- - - - -

Ashley couldn't focus on the brush in her hand as it glided over Padre's glossy coat. The reason why she couldn't concentrate was Spencer's fault, of course, because the blonde's hand was covering Ashley's own with a soft warm grasp. The other girl was trying to show Ashley how to brush the male horse correctly, but every single time she spoke her hot-breath tickled Ashley's neck and ear. It didn't help either that Spencer had her other hand on Ashley's hip, while she pressed her body up against Ashley's own slender frame. " . . . Up and down in smooth strokes," Spencer was saying, her voice soft and husky as she continued to guide Ashley's hand.

Soon, the blonde released her and stepped away, fiddling with some sort of Native American patterned blanket. When she spread it across the golden horse's back and cinching it tight with a leather belt that ran all the way around the equine's middle. "This is a bareback pad," she was explaining, but Ashley was looking at the blonde's pert ass as she bent over to tighten the buckles holding the belt-like structure in place. Padre, who seemed to sense Ashley's gaze, looked over Spencer's kneeling form to glare at the brunette with some sort of obvious newfound hatred for the girl whom he presumed would attempt to steal away his mistress.

Straightening up, to Ashley's immediate regret, Spencer turned to pick up a leather hackamore ( a bridle without a metal bit, instead of connecting to the horse's mouth for control, it pulls on the bridge of their nose – it's a much softer way of commanding a good horse ) and to slip it over the horse's head. Of course, everything that Spencer was saying was flying way over Ashley's head, but the blonde looked damn sexy as her muscles flexed each time she did something with the horse. Soon, Spencer was handing Ashley a helmet ( oh god, hat hair! ), and leading the big beast down the aisle and out into the sunshine.

- - - - -

Seated astride the horse, Ashley found herself sitting in the front of the extra wide saddle with Spencer neatly tucked behind her. The warm press of Spencer's arms as she grasped the bits of leather ( also known as reins ) controlling their steering was far too distracting for Ashley to even attempt to think. With a soft cluck, Spencer moved the horse out into a walk and Ashley felt her heart start to pound. Could you fall off at this slow gait, and if you did, would it hurt?

"Relax." Spencer seemed to sense her fears, "I won't let you take a tumble, okay?" When Ashley nodded, Spencer smiled and allowed her chin to rest onto the brunette's shoulder. "All right, let's ride!"

Before Ashley could even begin to process what was happening, they were off at a wild gallop – nothing to keep up with them but the wind. And as much as she hated to admit, Ashley was actually having fun . . . lots and lots of fun.

-----------------------  
**Author's Notes:**

Eh. Not that great, sorry guys. I've written this like 40594094054 times and I've hated each one. I got tired of writing and re-writing, so here's one of the better versions I guess ...

Next chapter ( don't hold me to this, though ) I think Spashley might have a kiss, but it won't be anything you're expecting. There are two roads I could take this down, and I haven't decided on which one yet.

Anyway, until next chapter ... lots and lots of love!

_-late edition_.


	8. The Schism Kiss

**Disclaimer: **SoN Tom Lynch's brain child.

**COPYRIGHT:** This writing is mine. The characters might not be, but the words are.

-------__

I'm laughing straight to the bank with this ...

The waterfall pool was cool against Spencer's bare feet. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Ashley nervously eyeing Padre as she slipped past his golden side. He flattened his ears and waited until she stood at the right angle and then suddenly with a toss of his massive head, he whacked the brunette hard enough to send her flailing backward into the brackish water. "Fuck!" Ashley cried as she hit the ice cold water with a tremendous splash. Surfacing quickly, the brunette began to doggy-paddle toward her friend. "I hate your horse!" She said bitterfly as she reached shallow land, pulling herself up with the helpful arms of the reeds. Of course, they were helpful until they ripped a small crevice into her palms. Biting her lip and refusing to cry out, Ashley scrambled up the bank.

"Careful," Spencer warned, "He'll hear you." Grinning a bit mischievously, the blonde girl leaned back onto her own soft palms and stared up at Ashley. Her blue eyes flashed suddenly as poor Ashley tripped on a tree-root and landed face first in Spencer's lap. The shock of the wet girl was one thing, but the part of Spencer that Ashley's head rested on was another electrical feeling entirely. "Oh!" The religious blonde gasped out.

Sitting up quickly, her face flushing, Ashley tucked her legs beneath her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, uh, crush you." Her wet shirt clung to her, and exposed the lines of her bra. Looking up at the blue sky in an excuse not to see Spencer's expression, she closed her eyes and warmed her damp face with the sun's heat. When she grew brave enough to glance back at Spencer, she saw that the blonde was watching her with a strange expression on her face. Or rather, staring at her chest with a very intent look upon her round face. Reaching up to touch her purple T-shirt self-consciously, Ashley flushed again and said softly, "What?"

Tearing her gaze away, Spencer uncomfortably stared at Padre. Watching as he gleefully waved his head in their direction. He obviously couldn't wait to have another go at Ashley. "Nothing. We should head back soon. It'll be dark before we know it." As soon as the words left her lips, she realized how dumb they sounded. It was barely two o'clock.

Giggling, Ashley leaned forward to swipe a few of Spencer's blonde hairs behind her ear. "Where? Is it getting dark in Spencerland?" Realizing how affectionate the touch seemed, she tore her hand back to her side. Why was it so weird with them now? Spencer was obviously not climbing on the gay train any time soon. More important, Ashley couldn't be attracted to Spencer.

She just couldn't. Not now. Not ever.

"Spencerland? Is that the planet you thought I came from when I went to pick you up?" Wiggling her brow suggestively, the naturally pretty blonde sat up and leaned a little closer to Ashley. Her skin still burned achingly from the other girl's touch. Was it so wrong to want Ashley to caress her again? Her own fingers slid forward in the soft earth, gliding toward Ashley's manicured nails with agonizing slowness. Did Ashley notice her reaching out? No, the brunette was oblivious to the buzzing attraction that seemed to lie between them. No matter how far Spencer stretched, she couldn't seem to actually grab a hold of what she desired most.

Ashley.

Standing up, Ashley brushed the dirt from her butt without shame. She felt like she could do anything in front of Spencer without feeling embarrassed, including wiggling her ass to rid it of dirt. Well, anything except be intimate in any form or fashion. Yet, to be truthful, Ashley had never been public about such things as kissing or even holding hands. It bothered her for some reason, probably because her parents didn't touch or be affectionate in front of her at any time. She liked to keep her sex life behind closed doors, so to speak. Not that she had much of one anymore. Celibacy seemed to be her new thing since Spencer walked or rather stormed into her life, not that she minded the intrusion, of course. Spencer wasn't a bother. At first, she had thought of Spencer as a little odd but now Ashley only saw the other girl as adorable. Realizing that she hadn't answered Spencer's question, Ashley spoke, "Yes. The whole cross thing hanging from the rearview mirror and the purse made out of fabric with hymns printed on it? Definitely several requirements of Spencerland."

Feeling a bit bold, Spencer reached up and tugged on Ashley's hand. Releasing it after a moment, the skin to skin contact burning her, and patting the ground beside her, she said shyly, "C'mere."

"Why? Ashley felt her heartbeat quicken. Something was strange about this exchange. She couldn't put her finger on it but it was there. Still, she obeyed Spencer's request and sat down beside her. Their shoulders brushed for a moment and Ashley leaned a little farther away. She needed to avoid contact, if she didn't ...

She couldn't fall for Spencer. She just couldn't.

But she was already and you can't stop gravity.

The blonde turned to look at her, her blue eyes shining with desire. "I don't like sitting by myself."

Really now? Ashley looked away. Those cerulean eyes were like two symmetrical magnetic pools, if Ashley stared at them too long she might be tempted to kiss Spencer. The draw of those deliciously gorgeous sapphire-chasms was just too much. "I – I thought you wanted to go back?" She hated the way her voice held a nervous tremor. It betrayed her cool and calm exterior like an inanimate snitch.

"Ashley . . . " Spencer's voice was a soft guttural groan. The brunette whipped her head around to face the other girl. "Please, I – I . . . " Lowering her blue eyes, realizing their power in an instant, Spencer berated herself. There was no way Ashley would want her. The sable haired girl could have anyone. Why would she choose a complete geek? They were just friends and that was all they would ever be.

Reaching out, Ashley touched the cheek of Spencer. The soft skin was hot to her touch and it grew even warmer as Spencer turned redder with the contact. Using her lower two fingers to gently push the blonde's chin upward, Ashley looked deep into those gorgeous teal pools. "Please, what?" A moment passed and then suddenly, Ashley surrendered. "Oh, to hell with it." Leaning forward, her other hand coming up to gently push against Spencer's lower back. It was all the urging that the blonde needed. They met perfectly in the middle, their lips brushed for a split second and then Ashley pulled back. She couldn't hurt Spencer and she would if she let this go forward, but . . .

Not about to let Ashley talk herself out of this, Spencer bravely tilted forward. Her hands came up to grasp the softness of Ashley's T-shirt with reckless abandon, the damp purple fabric slid between her fingers despite her lusty hold. Gripping the cloth so tight that her knuckles went white, she whispered, "Kiss me, but this time like you mean it."

Ashley obeyed.

Their lips met, pressed, and then split apart so tongues could do their bit. The kiss left both girls feeling dazed and heady all at once. Even as they broke for breath, Spencer didn't want it to end. It was she that pushed Ashley for more, each time the brunette tried to shift back, Spencer followed her. Soon, Ashley lay on her back with Spencer pinning her down by holding her wrists. Not that she minded being held so forcefully, especially when those delicious lips belong to Spencer slipped down to kiss her lower-jaw and then her neck. God, had Spence ever been this confident before? There was something in her touch, a knowledge that had to be fostered by experience. At once, Ashley felt a jealous flame lick her lower belly. Frightened by the odd feeling, she knew this had to end or else she might slip into ... well, you know.

She worked her arms free of Spencer's grasp, raising them to gently push the blonde back.

"No."

Even Ashley couldn't believe she had said it. She couldn't believe that she was stopping something she desired more than she wanted to admit. At once, Spencer sprang away from her. Flushing, the blonde stood and stumbled in the opposite direction. She was headed straight for Padre, who was eyeing them sulkily on as he munched on a mouthful of grass. Untying him from his tether, Spencer buried her face in the soft golden fur of his neck. God, what had happened?

Ashley, by now, had gotten to her feet and she touched her swollen lips uncertainly. Why did she stop them? Then, she remembered. "Spencer," she said softly. "Wait. It's not what you think. I like you, but I —"

"It's fine!" Spencer practically shrilled. "We're fine. Everything is fine. We'll be okay. Come on, let's go home. I have a huge physics test tomorrow and Dr. Bartel is counting on me to get a perfect score. Here, we can get on Padre and —"

Ashley had closed the distance between them, her hand stretching out to press against a finger against Spencer's moist lips. "Listen. Don't revert back to Holy Spastic Spen just yet." Mumbling something, Spencer reached a hand up to push Ashley away. Catching the blonde's hand and holding it in her own, Ashley would not be deterred just yet. "Hush. You will listen to me if I have to tie you down and gag you." Those beautiful blue eyes flashed with alarm and the bubbling energy radiating from Spencer died away as the girl stiffened.

"You okay now?" When Spencer nodded mutely, Ashley removed her finger. The blonde stayed quiet and so Ashley reached out to grasp her other hand. "I'm sorry for stopping you, believe me, I am. I wanted it to go a lot farther than that, but I . . . " She trailed off. Jesus' god, why was this so hard to say? "I'm not very good with relationships." There. It was out.

Spencer waited a full thirty seconds before opening her mouth. She knew Ashley well enough to know that the tie-you-down-and-gag-you threat was a real one. "That's all?" She gently pulled her hands away and took a step back. "Well, I guess that settles it then." Turning around, she walked back to Padre. "You coming?"

Ashley stared at the retreating back of Spencer and felt tears oddly collect at the corners of her eyes. Where had she gone so wrong?

- - - -  
**Author's Notes:**  
Please leave a review on the way out! Thanks. :)


	9. When You're Gone

**Disclaimer:** The lyrics to _When You're Gone_ by Avril Lavigne seemed to fit this chapter. They are copyrighted to her and I'm only borrowing them to boost my muse level. xD

------------------

_**I always needed time on my own.  
I never thought I'd need you there when I cried ...  
And the days feel like years when I'm alone.  
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side. **_

When you walk away, I count the steps that you take.  
Do you see how much I need you right now?

When you're gone the pieces of my heart are missing you.  
When you're gone the face I came to know is missing too.  
When you're gone so are the words I need to hear  
to always get me through the day  
and make it okay.  
I miss you.

Spencer didn't speak to Ashley for four days, three hours, fifteen minutes and still counting. Ashley would have thought it impossible, but the blonde was like a motionless wax figure whenever the brunette came around. It wasn't fair. Ash hadn't done anything wrong. She had stopped their heated liplock for Spencer's own well-being; why couldn't the idiot girl see that? Yet, Ashley knew that her g—friend, er, _Spencer_ was hurting. No matter how many times poor Ashley tried to engage conversation or explain away her actions from that fateful day, Spencer would just nod mutely and turn away. As if the mere thought of what had happened caused the girl great agony still.

Eventually, Ashley just stopped trying.

They split apart, a schism lying between them so wide that neither knew how to bridge it nor cross it for that matter. Ashley no long sat with Spencer at lunch, instead she ate with some friends she made in Chemistry class. She had no idea, of course, that these blombshell blondes were the most popular girls currently in attendance with Winchester Academy for their eleventh year. They had been Madison's old cronies until the Latvian girl dropped in the social order when her sex tape with the violin teacher came out. Eventually, of course, Madison would crawl back to where she had been before, but for now life was blissfully drama-free, er, _Madison_-free.

Spencer sat with her best friend, a girl named Kyla Woods. A total nerd, the petite brunette had horn-rimmed glasses and a tendency to wear floral prints. She was gifted in math and could multiply, divide, factor, and add with the top scholars. Her only real problems were caused by the fact that she looked as if she had dressed in the dark and also her hyena style laugh. One chortle from Kyla and people were clapping their hands over their ears in a pained grimace.

Maybe that was why she didn't laugh often. Except around Spencer, but the blonde had a knack for getting the best out of people.  
Ashley couldn't help but stare wistfully at Spencer all through lunch, the only period they had together. Spencer was light-years ahead of Ash in school, but it hadn't mattered until now. Before, they had found time to talk and laugh between classes. Now, the distance seemed to only push the void farther apart between them. Several times Ashley had attempted to catch Spencer's attention in the halls or lurk by the blonde's locker hopefully, but each time Spencer ducked into a classroom and acted as if she hadn't seen the desperately waving Ashley.

It all came to a breaking point when Spencer joined the track team. She had an excuse to walk in at ten o'clock at night, put on her headphones, and mouth to Ashley to be quiet so she could study. She would peer at her books until midnight, the acute glean of the small lamp sitting on the desk was not enough to bother Ashley but the mere presence of Spencer in the room left the brunette awake and alert. When the light clicked off, Ashley would leap at her chance to talk to Spencer, but each time she was parried away with a "I'm busy" or "I really need to sleep, I'm so tired" or a simple "Later".

Ashley knew she had to act and soon, too. Why she was acting like a desperate groupie to attract rock star Spencer's attention was beyond her, but she knew she had to have those blue eyes gazing adoringly at her again. Those beautiful cerulean orbs were better than sex. They were better than chocolate, in fact.

Dressed in a short, ripped black skirt and a tank top that outlined the muscles in her abdomen, Ashley stepped out of the bathroom with her hair done and her entire frame smelling of strawberries. The eyeliner and mascara around her brown eyes made them pop out like Hershey's milk caramels and she knew that Spencer at once would be drawn to her.

She was ready to seduce God's favorite angel.

At precisely ten o'clock, Spencer slipped her key into the lock on her dormroom door and walked into the surprisingly bright room. Ashley was usually in bed by now with the lights off. She was always just waiting to skirmish with the usual excuse for why she didn't want someone like Spencer. The blonde thought she did it in the dark to hide her lying eyes.

Then she saw Ashley framed by the light of the bathroom and dressed to kill. Spencer's poor heart rate tripled and then quadrupled with the mere sight of her friend. "Uh, why are you dressed like that?" It was all Spencer could manage but it was the first time she had spoken to Ashley in four days, seven hours, and three minutes.

Purring, Ashley moved away from the doorframe and switched off the light. "Hm? Oh, what, this? I have a date tonight, silly." Pillaging through her purse for some lipgloss, she watched Spencer's expression darken with unmistakable glee in her own brown eyes.

"Date?" The blonde inquired hotly. "With whom?"

Ashley waggled a finger in warning at her roommate. "Don't go being jealous. You don't want anything to do with me, remember?" She had to cover her mouth with her hand to hide her grin at the way Spencer swelled up like an indignant peacock.

"I'm not jealous! I – I just don't think you should go out at ten o'clock . . . there's rapists and, uh, madmen out there." She looked away, hating how easily Ashley could work her up. What happened to immobile Spencer? Glancing back to Ashley, she realized immobile Spencer had disappeared the moment her friend showed _that_ much leg.

"Madmen?" Ashley arched an eyebrow and sidled a little closer to Spencer. "Rapists? In the halls of Winchester? I think not." Reaching out a hand, she captured the quivering fingers belonging to the blonde. "I'll tell you what," she continued in a swindling tone, "I'll cancel it if you tell me why you've been avoiding me these past four days, seven hours, and—"

"Seven minutes?" Spencer interrupted with a knowing grin. For a moment, they shared a smile before Ashley daringly took two steps closer. They were only a few inches apart, the chasm between them lessening by the second, and Ashley reached up with her free hand to stroke the soft skin of Spencer's cheek. The blonde lowered her eyes, tugging her hand from Ashley's grasp, and shrinking from the brunette's touch.

Sighing, Ashley finally broke the awkward silence. "Eight now."

"I – I can't, Ash. It's ... I ... well ... I ... you should go on your date. I have to study." She turned completely around, her back to the one thing she needed most. Shoulders trembling with unshed tears, she pointed at the empty hall. "Go." It was a request, not a demand, but Ashley obeyed. She could never refuse Spencer.

As the sable haired girl brushed past her, Spencer was taken with the toll of her regrets. How far could she push Ashley away until the brunette didn't come back? "Wait," she could scarcely believe her eyes but Ashley stopped obediently and glanced back toward her. "Don't go." Her own indecisiveness was driving _her_ crazy, but she couldn't help it. Everything was a confusing blur and she didn't know how much longer she could take it. "Why, why did you stop? No, don't tell me it was your fault because I know it wasn't. I know I'm not good enough for you, but why do you keep trying to win me over? I'm nobody's prize, Ashley, and I —"

"Stop it!" Ashley's expression flushed suddenly. "If anyone should be saying that, it's me. Are those the reasons you've been ignoring me?" At Spencer's nod, the petite brunette stepped back into their shared room and shut the door behind her. "I don't want you to think like that ever again."

Spencer stared at Ashley with disbelief as her mind whirled with incredible thoughts. There was no way Ashley actually thought someone like Spencer as worth her time. "But —"

"Shut up." Ashley commanded and grinned at way the blonde girl clamped her lips shut. Reaching out for Spencer and drawing her closer, Ashley knew that she couldn't stop the kiss coming. Spencer would think she had been lying before and the brunette didn't want that. Brushing one thumb against Spencer's lips, she whispered. "Next time you decide to think stupid, please do let me know. I hate being away from you and your nerdy ways. If I have to suffer through one more lunch discussing the merits of pink toenail polish, I'll explode."

Smile widening beneath Ashley's caress. Spencer arched a recently waxed eyebrow. Grabbing the gorgeous girl's hand and taking it in the soft grasp her own palm, she spoke. "You'd rather discuss whether or not Mary Magdalen was really at The Last Supper?"

"Definitely."

Ashley didn't even bother acting surprised when Spencer's lips crashed against her own. They moved in unison back to Spencer's double bed. Hitting the mattress with a loud thunk, Ashley howled out in pain. Leaping back, Spencer's expression was one of mortification. "I'm _so_ sorry! Did I hurt you? Oh my god, I knew I was bad, but ..."

"No, it's not you, stupid. There is something in the bed." Standing up and rubbing a point on her lower back, she ripped the bedspread away to reveal a hardcovered book. At once, Spencer dived down upon the offending object and clutched it guiltily to her chest. Suspicious, Ashley leapt upon Spencer with the driving intention of getting that book. It had to be something really good or something that was going to be really bad, Spencer wouldn't hide it from her for a mediocre reason.

It took a while but Ashley emerged the victor with the library book in hand. Open it's discreet cover. She read the title aloud. "_The Joy of Sex_ ... For lesbians?" Roaring with laughter, the brunette collapsed on the bed and rolled around as if she had been lit on fire.

Jerking the book back and lifting her nose in the air, Spencer whirled around, "I'm glad you find it funny. I was doing some research. I'll have you know that nobody likes an ignorant partner in bed!"

Ashley stood up and flashed Spencer an impish grin. "Whatever you say, Spastic Spen. But, I think I wouldn't mind a little ignorance." Wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, she patted the bed beside her. Even when Spencer tripped mid-swoop for a kiss and they knocked heads hard enough to kill a few thousand brain cells, Ashley thought she was the luckiest girl in the world.

And she was.

----  
**Author's Notes:  
**Hope you enjoyed it! Please review on your way out!


	10. Let's Forget About This And Them

_**I just want to scream and lose control,  
throw my hands up and let it go.**_

Chemistry was such a bore for Ashley. She hated the way her teacher droned on and on about the periodic table and the many marvels it held. In Ashley's opinion, the only thing interesting about the periodic table was trying to pronounce the names of the elements inside of it. It was like a field day for chagrin on the whole class's part.

Staring rather helplessly at the test in front of her, she wished for something or someone to relive her of this hell. She would come to regret that wish.

Two uniformed men in suits entered her classroom, they had bulges at their hips which were obviously hidden hand-guns and they had ominous sunglasses shielding their soulless eyes from sight. At once, Ashley became alarmed because she had seen these guys before ... From back when her house had been robbed by Damien 'Fast-Fistin' Roberts.

Her teacher, Dr. Marx, stopped his usual prattling to step outside to have a mini pow-wow with the men. When he entered the room again, his face was very grave and his eyes were heavy with bad news. "Ashley Davies." He said with a note of forbidding in his tone.

"Yes?" Ashley replied quietly. She lowered her eyes; she already knew. Something was terribly wrong.

Dr. Marx shuffled to her table, his old man's loafers squeaking as they pressed against the tiled floor. Gripping her arm in a surprisingly strong grip, he spoke, "You'll need to come with me." Ashley nodded quietly before standing up and gathering her things.

- - - -

_**Forget about everything and runaway, yeah.  
I just want to fall and lose myself.  
Laughing so hard it hurts like hell.**_

Physics was Spencer's favorite class. She loved the formulas and the laws they learned about, and she especially adored Dr. Bartel, her teacher. The people in her class were total nerds and so she fit right in with the crowd. No one stared at her strangely as if she were from another planet, or rather universe. She grinned suddenly for she remembered Spencerland, Ashley's fictionally created world just for her.

She had already finished their chapter test and she thanked Dr. Bartel when he passed by to collect it. "Easy?" He asked her with a charming grin and he laughed at her eager nod. "You're a wonderful student, Spence. I don't think I could teach this class without seeing your face every day." Flushing, Spencer looked away and mumbled a gracious 'thanks'.

Had Dr. Bartel just ... hit on her?

_No way,_ she thought while brushing it quickly away from her mind. He didn't hit on students! He had a wife and a daughter. There was no way he'd blow that for a total geek like her. What was even more important, she wasn't even beginning to be interested in him. She had Ashley and the idea of Dr. Bartel naked made her vomit a little. No, scratch that, _a lot_.

The bell rang and she stood up to leave, gathering her binder and textbook and replacing them neatly in her bag. Dr. Bartel swooped down her row again and brushed her playfully with his shoulder. Frowning, Spencer ignored the soft bump and left the room without a backward glance. Heading straight toward her locker, where she knew Ashley would be waiting, she grinned with anticipation. As she rounded the corner and entered the hall where her locker was stationed, she quickly saw that Ashley wasn't waiting for her. Confused and a little frightened, Spencer halted beside the silver metal box and pursed her lips uncertainly.

It was third period and they both had lunch, so it was unlike Ashley to be late. Usually the brunette would grab Spencer's hand and tear toward the cafeteria like Gucci was having a five-dollar sale on all of its sunglasses in there. Still, there was no Ashley to be found and when the hallway emptied out and the five-minute-bell rang – Spencer knew the brunette wasn't coming. Sighing deep in her throat, the blonde set off to eat her lunch alone.

- - - - -  
_**Forget about everything and runaway,  
yeah.**_

"Did you hear?" Kyla asked excitedly as she sat down beside Spencer. Her brown eyes flashed for a moment with the sheer weight of her newly eavesdropped knowledge before she gripped the edge of the table and leaned closer to her petite friend. "About Ashley?" When Spencer shook her head, Kyla prattled on with excitement practically oozing out of her tone. "She was taken out of Chem. with two undercover cops. They put her in a car and drove her out of Winchester, perhaps even the state! Word is that her parents and her brother were killed in some sort of gang attack. It was for like revenge or something —" Kyla was right in a sense, but the tale was a bit stretched. No matter, Spencer believed it entirely.

Spencer didn't even bother hearing the rest. She lurched out of her seat and went tearing off to the dorm room she shared with Ashley. She had to talk to her. Who knew what kind of state her best friend was in right now? Ash needed her and there was no way she was going to be anywhere else but there for the other girl. "I'm coming, Ash. I'm coming." She murmured to herself as she ran toward the hated elevator, sliding to a stop to desperately press the down button. With a soft and rather smart _ding!_, the doors slid open to reveal a beautiful brunette.

"Ashley?" Spencer stepped into narrow box right as the doors slammed shut and the floor dropped out beneath them.

They were going down.

Definitely.

- - - - -  
_**So-so is how I'm doing if you're wondering.  
I'm in a fight with the world but I'm winning.Stay there, come closer, it's all at your own risk.  
Yeah, you know how it is when life can be a bitch.**_

They landed with two joint thumps. Spencer bouncing gracefully and catlike to her feet, while Ashley did a face-plant into the dirty and scratchy carpet. "Ashley!" Spencer cried. With two shaking steps, she had crossed the divide between them and thrown herself at the mercy of her almost-lover. "Are you okay?"

Moaning, Ashley pressed her palms against the firm carpet and raised herself into a sitting position. "Yes ... no ... I don't know." She tucked her knees beneath her rug-burned chin and wrapped her arms securely around them for comfort. "We're stuck in an elevator again. The same damn one, actually." She murmured quietly, her brown eyes remaining pensive. Sensing Spencer moving hesitantly closer, Ashley raised one hand in warning. "Please, don't."

"Don't what?" Spencer said quietly. Scooting close enough to brush shoulders with Ashley, she took the other girl's outstretched palm and wrapped it in her own. "I'm not doing anything." She stroked her thumb over the soft skin of Ashley's hand. Turning slightly so she could look the brunette in the eye, she waited to see what would happen next. Everything with Ashley was a surprise. She didn't know what would go down next, but she would hang onto Ash for dear life. She couldn't lose her now, not to anything or anyone.

Ashley sighed deep and long in her throat before tilting her head to meet Spencer's gaze. "Don't tell me it's all going to be okay. Don't tell me that you love me. Don't tell me that it's not my fault ... Don't tell me that it's okay to cry ... Don't tell me I am lucky to be alive, that they would want me to be alive, because that is just not true. Don't be here ..." She lowered her head onto Spencer's shoulder, refusing to say anything more. Staring at their clasped hands, Ashley thought for a moment that she couldn't take the weight of her sorrow and her hunger for Spencer all at once. She simply couldn't take it in one room; she was surely going to make the wrong choice or take the wrong course of action.

Spencer nodded. "Okay." She said simply, her thumb still brushing the top of Ashley's hand. She didn't want to say anything else for fear of pushing her friend away. Ashley, however, recoiled from her after a moment.

"I can't ..." She trailed off, her gaze lowering so she didn't have to stare at Spencer anymore. "I can't deal with you right now. Can you just ... go?"

Hurt beyond words, Spencer nodded before getting to her feet. Then, with a soft laugh, she spoke, "No. I can't. We're stuck in an elevator. But I can go to that corner and you can stay in this one." When Ashley nodded in agreement, Spencer strode across the short distance and sat down again. They stayed there in their corners for what felt like an century of silence.

Then, amazingly, Ashley broke the lull. "I – I'm sorry." Spencer glanced up, not daring to believe her ears. Their eyes met and suddenly Ashley was standing and then crashing into Spencer. Her lips desperate to meet Spencer's own and her hands searching for a hold somewhere on the blonde's body, Ashley soon found her lips forming words after they broke apart from Spencer's tight hold. "Make me forget, Spencer." Ashley hoarsely whispered, "Please ... I just want to forget. Help me."

Spencer didn't know what to do. Freezing like a bug under a microscope, she stared deep into the brown eyes of Ashley. "I don't know how." The words tasted bitter because she didn't usually say them, but luckily it was Ashley to the rescue.

"Kiss me." Ashley commanded and Spencer obeyed. Lips met lips, tongues met tongues, hands met strands of tussled hair, and bodies curved in the lusty arch of sex. With practiced ease, Spencer lowered the other girl onto her back, her knowing fingers slipping to unbutton Ashley's jeans. At the sound of a zipper being tugged, Ashley grunted softly. The confines of her clothes were suddenly all too much in the way. She wanted to be pressed skin against skin with Spencer, and the fabric just needed to get the hell out of her way. Flipping them over and rolling Spencer beneath her, Ashley jerked off the black Roxy jacket she wore and it tossed into a pile away from them. She did the same for Spencer with the removal of her American Eagle sweatshirt.

Spencer grinned up at Ashley and said rather flirtatiously, "Are you undressing me?"

Ashley growled and covered Spencer's lips with her own. After a long-lasting heated kiss, one that only ended when they had to break apart to breathe, Ashley lowered her head so she could whisper into Spencer's ear a command that the blonde would take to heart. "No more talking. Not until I am done with you."

Quirking a brow but refraining from commenting, Spencer raised her hands to tug at the base of Ashley's shirt. Eagerly, the brunette raised her arms and allowed the garment to be pulled and tossed aside. Eyeing Ashley's lacy black bra with lustful eyes, Spencer reached up in an attempt to remove that as well. It was hard to find the clasp though, with Ashley writing her name in hickies across Spencer's collar bone. Seizing the snap finally, Spencer tugged it back and then to the side; she would have been successful had Ashley not touched a particularly sensitive spot. With a soft moan, Spencer released her prize in one accidental motion.

"OW!" Ashley cried as she jerked away from Spencer's touch. "Did you just snap my bra?" Reaching up to rub the offended area, she grinned at Spencer's bashful expression.

"I didn't mean to," the blonde mumbled embarrassedly. "I was trying to do undo it and then you ... well ... sorry." She finished lamely.

The brunette grinned wickedly. "You so snapped it on purpose. That hurt like hell, too. I think you should make it up to me."

"How?" Spencer asked warily. Ashley leaned forward to whisper exactly what she wanted done into the innocent girl's ear. Eyes widening to the size of golf balls and her breath hitching in her throat, Spencer spoke in an octave higher than usual. "You want me to do what?"

_**But I feel so alive,  
I can't help myself.  
Don't you realize?**_

----  
**Author's Notes:**  
My personal little shout to D.E.B.S ( lol )! Hope you liked it!

- late edition.


	11. If Dreams Could Kill

_**I'll never ask for permission from you . . .**_

Spencer stared down at the brackish water, her cerulean eyes were round and frightened as they took in the swelling whitecaps and the impassive faces of the sienna rocks. She leaned back, dizzy from looking at the sheer drop for so long. For a moment, she was silent, her arms folded protectively across her chest and her eyes closed in absolute terror, albeit she'd never admit to feeling that way. Finally, her eyelids flickered and her tongue protruded from her mouth as he licked her lips. Speech, although a bit shaky, would come next. "Ashley," she whispered hoarsely, her tone filled with honesty, "I _can't_."

And she couldn't. The cliff was far too high, about fifty feet above sea level, and she didn't even really know how to dive anyway. When Ashley, her friend, proposed such a thing, she'd laughed uneasily and agreed that it was a worthy proposal, but did that really mean she wanted to do it? Did such a thing entail that Spencer _could_ do it?

No, she decided that it didn't.

Beside her, the brunette shuddered with involuntary anger. The dark-haired girl wanted to bare her teeth and claw at her blonde companion in an animalistic manner, but instead she simply smiled thinly and held onto her fragile control. "It's – It's _fine_," she returned uncertainly. "I was only joking when I suggested it. No one sane really does cliff-diving; it's way too dangerous. I picked it because I knew _you_ wouldn't do it." There was something in her tone, something that picked at Spencer's skin and challenged her more than a slap than a white glove could. The blonde seemed to tremble herself, as she peered over the edge once more, as if this time would change her mind and she would actually plunge into the treacherous water below.

When she reemerged, her austere eyes were wider and even more fearful than the first time she had peeked down over the cliff. Her breath was quick and raspy, as if she had run a mile, and it took her a moment to catch it. "I can't, Ashley." She repeated herself simply. "I don't want to . . . I don't even _know how_ to dive." She admitted, her gaze lowered so she didn't have to meet Ashley's own wild stare. They were both silent for a long time, before Ashley broke the silence with a crazed laugh. Spencer jerked her gaze upward, and Ashley saw that the blonde's eyes were puzzled and innocent. It was obvious that she didn't know how to help her friend; everything she did, every attempt she made was brushed away by Ashley. They were at a crossroads, and Spencer didn't have any directions on which lane to take.

Ashley stopped laughing suddenly, ceasing her maniacal expression as quickly as she had started it. The sable-haired girl threw herself forward, hitting Spencer and shoving her backward toward the very edge of the cliff they stood upon. For a moment, the blonde let out a soft and terrified cry as her heels slid over the ledge, her hands coming forward to clutch Ashley with the panic of survival. The brunette grasped both of Spencer's palms and yanked them away from her arms, pushing them toward the roaring sea below.

"No, Ashley, _don't!_"

Spencer shrieked as she clawed for the safety of the other side, and then, with another push, Spencer was falling . . . falling . . .

- - - -

Ashley jerked into consciousness, her hands flying upward to connect with the stout steering wheel. "Spencer!" She cried, her brown eyes wide with horror. Beside her, a blonde was aroused as sharply as Ashley had been just a minute before, her blue eyes were colored a darker navy from sleep. "Wh-what? She murmured, her hands coming up to clear a bit of drool from the corner of her lip. "Somebody say . . . name. Was . . . sleeping?"

Most of her sentences were incomprehensible, but Ashley could have cared less. She launched herself at the still drowsy blonde, throwing her arms around her warm – alive and dry! — shoulders with a choked sob. Spencer, having collected herself to know that she was being hugged by the sobbing Ashley, began to make soothing sounds. "Shh, it's all right, Ashley. They're in a better place now – a much better place now. God has them in heaven, and —"

"S-Shut up," Ashley attempted a firm tone, but mostly she sounded as if she were about to hiccup. Spencer obliged though, being the willing soul she was, and Ashley could have laughed at the incredulity of Spencer's thinking. She thought that Ashley was crying about her parents, when in reality she had been crying because she had orchestrated the blonde's death in her dreams. It was something that she could never actually do; Ashley was quite sure she could never _'kill'_ or murder anyone, not even Glen!

"I wasn't crying over them," she admitted for no reason other than to hear Spencer's opinion on the matter. "I was crying because I just had the scariest dream. You and I, we went cliff diving, and I — instead of, well I — oh, just never mind."

Spencer pushed Ashley gently away; her blue eyes were curious. "No, no _'just never mind'_! What happened? Why were we cliff-diving? I haven't done that in ages, it's very dangerous, you know." Spencer lifted her hands up excitedly; her azure-hued gaze was wide in the coming rant that would spill from her lips like word-vomit.

Ashley jolted forward, her expression akin to one who has just seen a unicorn. "You've been – You've been cliff diving?" She didn't mind encouraging one of Spencer's rambles, because the idea of Spencer jumping off a cliff without anything on her but a bathing suit seemed completely and utterly mendacious to Ashley. There was no way her geeky friend had leapt off the side of a massive cliff, just no way!

"Sure! My brother and I used to do it all the time. He's into extreme sports. You know, rock-climbing and all that stuff. He used to take me when he went; he fell his own airplane, too. We didn't get to do it very often, though, because we were Midwesterners and well Clay wasn't always – Why are you hugging me again? I mean, I'm all for the new and improved displaying of affection kick you're on, but . . . Oh, don't cry! Please don't cry! I didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry." Spencer peered innocuously down at the weeping Ashley with complete and utter confusion.

What had she said wrong? Could it have been the mention of Clay? Did Ashley get sad at the mention of Spencer's brother when her own brother, Glen, was dead? That made perfect sense, but what Ashley said next through her weeping was not.  
"You died!"

Ashley's tone was one that was accusing and Spencer peered about the car, it's expensive interior detail winking knowingly back at her; for a moment, she expected to see the ghost of Ashley's parents, or at least maybe a phantom housekeeper or something, staring back at her with a blank expression upon their misty visages. ( Spencer did, in fact, have a very over active imagination. )

Instead, all she saw was more pale leather and an expensive stereo system. The blonde looked back at the still choking Ashley, her expression puzzled. "I – I died?" She pointed at her chest, the white tip of her nail embedding into the soft material of her cream-colored cashmere sweater. Ashley nodded and Spencer grew even more pensive. Well, she couldn't have actually died, because wouldn't she know that she was in fact, dead? "I'm not dead." She stated the sentence as firmly as she could before adding in a smile for her – friend's benefit. "Although," she added, "I am beginning to think you're quite crazy. In fact, you just might pass for crazier than Spastic Spen. Maybe it's because of all those ding-dongs you had before we pulled over, I told you not to eat --"

Ashley shook her head. "No, stupid, in my dream, you died. I – I killed you."

"Oh," Spencer said slowly, "Well, that's a little morbid and . . . frightening. Is this the part where I run screaming off into the woods? Do I get a ten second start or should we start brawling right here?" Ashley began to shake again and Spencer leaned forward, pressing one finger beneath the brunette's damp chin. "_Hey_, I'm just kidding. Do you want to kill me?"

Ashley shook her head no.

"Then, I'm currently sitting in the position of being totally, completely, and utterly _un_afraid." A smile slowly came to Ashley's lips, before the brunette arched forward and planted them onto Spencer's own.

She pulled back and whispered:

"About earlier, when I asked you to do something for me . . ." She trailed off, waiting with wide hazel eyes. Spencer sighed in a defeated manner before nodding once.

"Okay," she said, "Okay. Let's go."

- - - - - -

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Spencer whispered uncertainly as they crept down the pew of the church. "I mean, I could go to hell for this. Stealing is a big no-no when it comes to religion, Ash!" The brunette laughed softly before turning to flash amused brown eyes in the blonde's direction.

"Oh, come on," she said. "Haven't you ever wanted to be bad?" At Spencer's incredulous look, Ashley turned around and mumbled, "I'm guessing that's a _'no way in hell, Ash'_."

There was a clatter from behind them and both girls dived for opposite pews. A drunk, clad in black robes with a stiff white collar, staggered into the room. "Anybody in here?" His voice was smoky, as if he had sucked on cigarettes for most of his pathetic life. "I'll call the cops, you mother f-fuckers." He waved his right hand. "Just because I'm Reverend Orch, doesn't mean I won't kick your asses." He swung wildly in what both girls guessed was an attempt at a demonstration and then he fell, his stolen bottle of church wine hitting the floor with a loud crash of breaking glass.

Ashley crawled forward, poking in her head out of the pew and toward his now slumbering form. "He's passed out. C'mon, Spence." Her tone was a dramatic stage-whisper, one that just dared to be mimicked, but they both got onto their hands and knees without a retort from the blonde.

They scampered their way toward the altar with Ashley in the lead. Suddenly, one hand circled her neck and the other clamped over her mouth to muffle her coming scream. Someone strong jerked her back in-between the pews again and she began to writhe and struggle.

"Ashley, stop! Ash, it's me, stop it! _Ow!_" Those impossibly secure arms released her and she glanced back to see Spencer peering up over her bitten hand in bewilderment. "Why did you bite me? That _hurt!_" She accused the brunette with her usual innocent tone.

Ashley fought the urge to laugh at Spencer, reminding herself that she was angry at the blonde for sneaking up and scaring her. "You grabbed me." She reminded her with a pointed whisper. "Why the sudden kidnap, Lurch?" She referred to the Addams Family's doorman with a grin.

Spencer glared for a moment before replying, "I — I well, I," she blushed, "I wanted to k-kiss you. See, I've always had this fantasy about . . ." She trailed off, eying Ashley suspiciously. "You'll laugh," she decided with a frown.

"I'll laugh? Me? Nun-uh." Ashley repeated, hiding her smirk. _Spencer_ with a fantasy? _No way._ Hell would freeze over before the blonde thought about girls or, god forbid, boys naked. And yet, maybe . . . "So, you're telling me that you've thought about me _naked_ during _church_?"

Spencer blushed a fine shade of magenta. "No! That's gross, Ashley."

"So, you're saying I'm gross?" Ashley grinned; she was enjoying this.

"No! That's not what I meant and you know it. I don't think about people naked while I'm actually in church, it's just —"

"That you think about it after?" Ashley finished for her, a grin settling on her lips. Spencer began to sputter indignantly before the brunette leaned forward and pressed her lips against Spencer's own smooth kissers.

Their kiss only lasted for a moment, before Spencer broke it and said nervously, "But don't you want to steal the cross? I mean, it is what we came here for – _Oh!_ Okay. No talking. Got it."

---  
**Author's Notes:**  
Eh.

Yeah, that pretty much sums up my opinion of it.

I tried to make the dream weird but real - so you might just buy it was actual reality, but you still kind of doubted it . . . Let me know if I pulled it off.


End file.
